Naruto of Blindness and the Wind
by Psalm Of Fire
Summary: Naruto, on his 7th birthday, is assaulted and blinded. Now, lost in the darkness, how will Naruto become an ninja, or Hokage, or even enter the academy at all? Based on "Naruto Fuujinroku", the Golden Wind God.
1. The 7th BirthDeathDay

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Daneel Rush's work "Naruto Fuujinroku". I do not own his/her original characters.

I love much of what s/he did, so much that I wanted to share it with my little brother... However, I feel there are many parts too inappropriate for him.

And still I wanted to share so greatly the first Sasuke I ever liked, along with much of the great humor in the original. So, I decided my editing skills could get a good workout from it all.

The result is a truly T rated version of the original. However, some of the originals... more outlandish/mature content becomes critical to the author's story... and thus, for that reason, I must develop much of my own plot.

The result is that fans of the original story will enjoy this one anew and those who do not wish to read such... heavy... things that the original contains will have an alternative done in honor of Daneel Rush-sama. You will not need to have read the original, Mind you.

Also to note, swearing will also be minimal. There is no clear shipping yet (they're 7!) and there will eventually be a lot of tease.

Also of note, my specialty in writing is character interaction, so expect a little more of that and a little less of the character info-dump, train of thought style writing (please understand, I am not criticizing it, I just don't know how else to describe it.)

I pray that Daneel is not offended by this in any way, and understands that I am only being a fan of his/her work in the same way s/he is a fan of Naruto.

Another point of interest: I do not know Japanese enough to use their names for jutsus. Thus, even though I will use the honorifics like -kun, -chan and -sama as well as the Japanese versions of the hidden villages, I will be using English for the jutsus.

Now, on to the story!

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Chapter 1

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi move briskly under his eldest daughters too small umbrella, almost grinding the rainwater into the street as he went – a minor spite back at the element that was so destroying his proper "clan leading" image. In every aspect he was supposed to remain immaculate. That's why it was below his station to be seen wearing a too-thin white top in a downpour.

That was why this night he and his daughter were returning home using a different path where no crowds would be witness. Normally however this street would not have been empty but for the day of mourning that was today: seven years ago the kyuubi brought disaster. So this night was an odd mix, both a night of mourning and a night of celebration.

Originally it was entirely mourning, but in the last two years more people joined in, letting go of their past to join together to honor the Yadamine. This year it had become the greatest celebration yet, that is, until the downpour.

Now only the drunks remained under the downpour and those to giddy to care otherwise.

Even with what little protection it offered, he was glad that the hurrying little girl next to him had had the foresight to bring an umbrella. She stumbled along, taking two steps for ever hurried one of his own, hand in hand.

Two things made keeping up a true feat for Hinata: First, she was unfamiliar with the area and wanted to look around with her wide-eyed innocence, drinking in all that she could of which was normally hidden from her in her sheltered life. Second, she would have normally been long asleep at this hour, curled up in her blankets, her ears comforted by the occasional snore that drifted her sister's nearby room.

All that, and the fact that she had taken in more unfamiliar sights and dealt with more unfamiliar situations than she could hardly imagine in a single night. It had being the first time she had attended a party outside the formal and staunch-y gatherings most common for the Hyuuga family. It was all on her mind, the smell of alcohol and the rambunctious crowed, the ridiculous variety of food she had been offered and stuffed with, the overwhelming fire art the Uchihas demonstrated to aid the in the celebrations. This all added up to one tired chibi tried to keep up with her father's hurried pace in the soaking rain.

In general it had been a healing process, or at least a counteractive to the pain, for all. All but one (or maybe thats two, technically).

The water continued to pour off the umbrella in solid streams as Hiashi adjusted it yet again to best cover them both. It now seemed like a ridiculous curtain, almost like they had to pull it back in order to see the next section of their shadowed path. It may have been a curtain they never wanted to pull.

For an instant the skyline stood in grand contrast to the flashing clouds as a great streak of lightning crossed the sky, never find earth. Fortunately for Hinata, the nearby thunder hid her shameful squeal. Hiashi dried to ignore her hand tightening around his, withholding a glare.

He turned back sharply to the bath before him, took a step, then faltered. She followed his eyes to a heap slung against the ally wall. Hinata glanced back at her father, seeing caution she had never before seen him show. He took steps forward that felt almost combat-ready. Hinata clung to his robes and followed.

The heap had to have been more than a stray, its size told that. It was absolutely drenched. It may have just been a drenched trash bag, but once closer Hinata realized it couldn't have: her father wouldn't have activated his Byakugon for a mere trash bag.

No, what she saw now was a person exhausted, completely soaked, leaning his back on the alley's side weakly hugging his knees, head hanging limply.

The sign nearly tore at her heart strings. She stepped in close, her father refusing to move past a certain point. Hinata could look nowhere else, however.

For a moment, she imagined herself in his place. Her spine fought the idea with a shake. She then became aware of the many rips and holes in his clothing.

This was the boy everybody left alone! In the parks where he wander, every one of the few times she had seen him he was alone and avoided. Anytime a Hyuuga saw them, there expressions tightened and she would be guided to the other side of the park, as far away, even if she was practically on the other side anyway.

She leaned in even closer, stretching the arm she still had holding her father to the limit as she literally leaned out over him.

He seemed to be her age. His hands occasionally shivered, as if they wanted to tremble like her own but couldn't find the energy. His golden hair was a mop stuck down, concealing his face – but not the blood flowing off his body and down the rainwater's path, not the two streaks of blood that traced from his chin down his neck.

Her eyes widened and mouth opened in fear. Hiashi took the step forward he had been avoiding and placed his hand on her shoulder, frowning down upon the scene.

o o o o o

Naruto was paying. This year he was hungry, this year he was trying to get some food before sneaking off into the forest for his birthday, to avoid his birthday stoning. He had tried, and maybe the fact that the villagers were as harsh as ever – glaring and throwing like they always did this day of the year – should have forewarned him. It hadn't.

…He was just so _tired_...

He didn't know, either, what had made him hope he could avoid the torments. He didn't know why he had to be born the day the Kyuubi attacked. He had hoped, and he didn't know it would be in vain.

All he knew was he was tired, deathly tired.

And in a world of pain. But as severe as that world was, it was overwhelmed by the tired. That's why he was there with his head slumped waiting for his death. What else could make tired actually _worse_ than the pain of a stabbing than death itself?

He quit breathing for a time, too tired to try. And again he was forced to continue after a time. Too tired to breathe, to tired not to breathe, and pain burning it all. That was Naruto's world.

Naruto was dimly aware of a presence when he felt the warm steam of breath on his forearms. It was a very different sensation to the horrified pain of his breathing or the blazing headache made worse by the pounding of the rain. He could barely pick out the little breaths so close to him.

That's why he tensed as well as his depleted body would allow. Was he back to finish the job?

No, the whimper was not from a mans throat, but a girls.

That's why he fought. He fought to life his hand in greeting, but didn't get farther than moving his limp wrist level to the ground. He sighed his deepest breath yet and let the hand fall back limp. This brought a breathy squeak.

Naruto's mouth twitched to a frown before giving up on the effort. But he couldn't give up. It was all made so worse by the lethal level of blood loss. He wanted to cry tears but his body would not spare the effort.

Like lifting a house Naruto urged his neck to contract. They obeyed after a battle, raising his head to great the little girl with a smile... the weakest and yet most heart filled smile she had ever experienced among the Hyuuga clan.

"Its... okay," He managed to push past the knife wound in his throat, a little blood from his mouth joined the flow from his mutilated eyes. That's where it hurt the worst, and why his head hurt the worst. He let his head drop back down, with no plans to ever pick it up again.

o o o o o

Hiashi watch the blond raise his head, the speed of which was very, very slow. He could see and feel his daughters whole body tense when she saw where his eyes had been. They were replaced with a bloody mess.

Hiashi's heart caught in his throat. That was something he had not allowed to happened since a cut his grievances for his wife away two years ago. And she was one of the main reasons it happened again.

He was with the majority of Konoha when they demanded the demon boy's execution, but his wife would here none of it. It was strange to him to see her get so passionate about it, but in the end she moved the support of the prestigious Hyuuga clan to side with the third Hokage to let the boy live.

He had often wonder it a mistake, now more then ever. Not because of his original reasons on the matter, however. It was because no one, no child, should ever have their eyes stabbed out and throw on the street to die, alone, in an endless rain.

He resisted the urge to bite his tongue as a way of restraining that lump.

"Its... okay," that child croaked.

Wha- was he trying to comfort here? As a mutilated corpse?

Then he smiled.

It hit him with a smash. Hiashi could almost feel his wife around him now, whispering to him as his little girl hid behind his pant leg, peeping back out. He tipped his head down, letting the rain cover the fact he had almost lost his hold.

He looked back up, blinking, to find the boys head had gone slack again.

"Na... ru... ...to?" His little girl whispered. The other child tremored, and then brought his neck back up in a way that made Hiasha ache to watch.

The victim "stared" in the direction of the voice, the angle flawlessly picked out despite the rain. He blinked, causing flow of blood from his eyes to increase for a moment, then return to its not-so-trickle.

Two side of Hiashi demanded action, one side of which he had often ignored. It was now demanding the strongest. But the other side agreed, and mused that this might be very beneficial.

He made a swift hand gesture, calling the four Hyuuga who had been assigned to trail them that day.

"Yes sir," one signaled back.

"You," he pointed at the chuunin, "Take Hinata to the house immediately and do not leave her until she is in her room." He was intrigued to see Naruto followed his voice as he barked his orders. He was a fighter, Hiashi gave him that.

"Immediately." The shinobi turned to the girl, "Hinata," he said sweetly and lifted her before she could complain. He was off, bounding across the rooftops of the soaked city.

Hiashi examined the boy a moment longer. His eyes were drawn back to what was left of the boy's before declaring, "The Third will want to know of this."

The next man was off, clearing the space between he and his goal with excessive leaps.

Hiashi left to two rigid servants and lead close to the boy. Naruto tried to raise a defensive arm when he heard the approach, but the protection it offered was less than a joke.

"You will owe me if you survive this one, boy," The leader whispered. "Remember that."

Much to his surprise Naruto's face contorted into a smile before he once again fell slack without the strength to keep his head up any longer. Did the Hyuuga actually see some satisfaction in that smile?

So he wanted to live.

Carefully picking up the boy (and becoming awfully aware of his malnutrition), Hiashi sped to the rooftops himself, the two servants in tow.

o o o o o

Hinata lay in her bed, little fists clenching the blanket, trying to keep her stomach from emptying itself.

It was not fear, that had left her with the smile. Maybe it was pity? Maybe it was revulsion? No, it was not revulsion, at least not _just_ revulsion. It was a mix of many things so hard for her little mind to sort. She did finally recognize some self loathing in the cacophony.

Self loathing about a lot of things was something she was used to, but this was self loathing at her personal pity parties, her own self loathing pure and simple.

She recalled that image, of his eyes so soulless and his mouth so soulful. She remember those light-grabbing blue eyes, and somehow she felt that loss to be a terrible tragedy.

Hinata rolled over onto her tummy and screwed her eyes shut. It didn't work... It didn't remove the guilt gnawing on her for all those times she gave up or even hid, and for all those times she failed her father.

And now her normal escape didn't even work! Now she couldn't drown in self pity without feeling this new wave of shame at her actions.

Something had to change.

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**Author's Notes:**

Well that's it, a really short 2600 word chapter 1. The thing is, I am going to start by posting the first three chapters at once so you won't care! ... :) smug ...

I have no beta and mourn the loss.

Psalm Of Fire


	2. Emergency

Chapter 2

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Hiahsi had one place to go. He was holding the wreck of a boy close as he said through the rain. It was just past midnight, and in a way, the same was true for Naruto. They were going to Saesa.

She was the best healer for Naruto, partly because she was the best... Aside from the gambling addicted Sannin and possibly any apprentices she had trained. The other reason she was the best for. Naruto was not welcome almost anywhere, hospital very much included.

So he and his servants dashed to the secluded "training ground" 69.

o o o o o

Sarutobi sucked in the tobacco with both need and resignation, and looked to his elder friend.

"Shiki-sama, welcome," the old man said then blew a significant cloud.

The other smiled back, sleeking some of the rain off his blue and black clothing. It bore a white crest in the middle with many significant symbols and no hidden village association.

Sarutobi let the paperwork he had been focusing on a moment before slide from his fingers.

"I look old and you haven't aged a day."

To this Shiki did not grin, but sigh and sate simply, "Not since I was seventeen." He removed on of the many seals stashed on his form and rolled it in front of the Hokage. "You look like you need a drink."

Sarutobi eyed the paper, noting the finite seals were all that adorned it. "Alcohol and Tobacco at once... I am not that young anymore. I shouldn't."

"Mmm," Was the reply, and then a 'poof' of unsealing revealed a bottle of the strong type. Another release elsewhere on the scroll revealed two squat glasses. A few hand signs later and both where chilled dangerously.

"Ice?" Sarutobi raised a brow. That almost always needed a Kekke Genkai (Bloodline Limit).

"Nothing that spectacular. I just learn the essential jutsus."

Sarutobi mumbled out an amused laugh.

The other man looked to the piles about. "Ah, paperwork, the bane and torture of political leaders everywhere. I do not envy you Hokage-sama."

"And yet, you spend your incredibly long life working with parchment every day."

"But they only contain my demands, and for the most part, I have those to a reasonable level."

They continued that train of thought, Shiki implying his jokes and the Hokage mumbling or sucking his pipe, only stopping for a snide comment or playful jab. It was nice conversation, but Shiki tired of carrying it on his own and let the room fall in to quietness shortly.

Once it was gone the depressive atmosphere settled again, composed of self blame and regret if one were able to taste it.

"Old monkey, your weighting the air. Ease up and have one," Shiki indicated the glass he had poured. He picked it up and offered it over. Sarutobi accepted and simply set it next to him, returning to his pipe.

Unlike most of the villagers the Hokage did not join in the celebrations. For many it wasn't just another celebration, but for Sarutobi it was weight. Dead weight on his shoulders and even more so on his heart.

"Did you not listen?"

The Third slowly moved his eyes back to his friend. He sighed at the look in the Hokage's eyes.

"It should have been me, Shiki," His whisper cracked past the tobacco in puffs.

"That night?" Shiki was deadpan.

"Always."

Shiki snorted, then seemed to consider. After a time he commented, "It still gives me shivers if the memory slips back too strong." His moment passed and he gave Sarutobi a hard stare. "It could not have been you. The Death Reaper seal was designed on the run, practically in a cave. We were luck enough we came up with the stable lattice frame combinations for the Four Symbols seal to imprison the Kyuubi no Kitsune. We didn't have time to teach someone the sealing technique, and to straight, we were running on luck. You need more than the skill of a thousand years to win against the Kyuubi, you have to have luck. We imprisoned the demon and it was over. Beside, it's very doubtful that you possesed the strength required to pull out the demon's soul at your age. Even if you were young, the Fifth had a lot more of that brute will, so it would still be up in the air as to if you could."

"Kami, it was like loosing a son. The father dies first, then the son. Who should suffer the other way?" The old man's eyes watered as he looked to the ceiling. He glanced down at his glass, and then welcomed the drink between his lips.

"Even with his better knowledge of seals, I'm not sure Jiraiya could even do it."

"That doesn't have anything to do with the son part."

Shiki didn't respond, his mind seemed to be on a tangent. Finally he concluded, "No other way."

"That doesn't change the fact that my time has passed. I don't want to be here anymore," He glanced around at the stacks of papers almost like a caged animal. Shiki welcomed the change in expression. It was nice do see something different from his sagging depression.

Out of the five great villages, Sandaime Hokage had held the title for the longest. It was a long term in a job that required practically every skill to be razor sharp. The result wearied the wet stone used to sharpen those blades every morning. It was easy to understand why the aging man would be tired of the fights with the council, the constant threats of invasion, relentless plots and deaths and enemies outside and inside the Hidden Village in the Leaves.

"But..."

"I can't, because I am the only one qualified. Everyone else is to zealous or unable." The old mans angry grimace drifted back to sadness. Then, a little sparkle appeared. "But, there is one thing now I can do right."

"Uzumaki?"

Sarutobi nodded.

"Your right. Naruto is here now, and not in the past. Here and now, Sarutobi, deal with that."

Sarutobi smiled back at him. It lifted Shiki's own spirits.

"So, that's what you're really here for isn't it. I could tell you weren't interested in helping my paperwork," Sautobi chuckled.

"He delights you to." Then Shiki scowled, "of course, do you think I care enough about anyone else in the village to take the time to come down here?"

"What about the Hyuuga?"

"... those are two different things. So how is he this birthday?"

"He's Naruto. Same as he always has been," Sarutobi replied with both pleasure and sadness.

"Any new development concerning..." Shiki let his question hang.

"None that I have seen or heard."

"Really..."

They took the time to consider the boy to the background of pelting rain on the window. The Third stood and turned around facing the window while he sipped his drink. Shiki started fidgeting in a very un-Shiki like manner. Sarutobi set his eyes, determined to ignore him. He had had too much.

"What did you use to cool the glasses," the Hokage asked flatly. Shiki grinned. It had been irritating him that the man hadn't asked. Both had always loved discussing jutsu, the endless ones Sarutobi (the "Professor") had perfected and the endless ones Shiki had theorized.

"Not going to guess?" Shiki mocked with obvious pleasure.

"Reversing heat with fire-chakra like you imagined so long ago?"

Shiki looked forlorn, "I only wish." A smile spread slowly back across his face however. "Genjutsu."

Saritobi stiffened. "You put me under genjutsu? I haven't noticed. " He sighed, "I am getting old."

"Don't blame yourself, I am pretty wily. I would think there are still very few people in the world able to pull that off-"

A small burst of chakra and then a swift single knock indicated an arrival.

"Come in."

The door flew open and the messenger present a deep but rushed bow. When he came up his pale lavender eyes indicated his Hyuuga-ness. He glanced at the rooms other occupant and hid is burst of surprise. He turned his attention back to the Sandaime.

"Hokage-sama! Hyuuga Hiahsi-sama has requested I inform you of an assassination attempt on Uzumaki Naruto." The messenger held to speed and professionalism.

Shiki held to the shinobi way, mostly controlling his emotions. Whatever he did let slip, however, wouldn't matter as it would have been lost in the wave of emotion the Hokage released. The man snapped around and slammed his hands on the desk, spilling his drink all over his tobacco stash. Sarutobi held, looked down and cringed, and then looked back to the messenger.

"How did it happen," his voice was ice. He struggled not to bring his killing intent to bare. The chuunin's eyes flickered before he started.

"We don't know the perpetrator, the attack was already inflicted when we arrived. He showed to have at least ten kunai stabs to the torso and-"

"Kunai?" Shiki asked.

"Ninja."

"Not necessarily so, Hokage-sama," Shiki used the honorific in front of the subordinate. "It could have gotten into the hands of a civilian."

The Hokage squeezed his forehead with his left hand. "I suppose so. Naruto has no ninja training so he is almost as helpless as any other seven year old. More, if you count the fact that almost no one would come to his aid." The chuunin seemed to think this through, taking to much time and drawing the ire of the Hokage. He hurried on with his explanation.

"- ten or twenty kunai stabs to the torso, one to the throat," Sandaime winced, "and several to the eyes." At that declaration Shiki winced and Sarutobi jerked with emotion. He tried to steady his breaths as the chuunin continued.

"Hiashi is taking him to Saesa-sama as we speak," Shiki nodded approval. "He was conscious when we found him." Shiki's heart pitied the boy.

The Hokage went threw a few seals.

"Calling ANBU?" Shiki asked.

Sarutobi was distracted, but a moment later with his seals released he nodded.

"Who is in of that area charge tonight?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

Shiki's ever-young face soured. "Isn't he only thirteen?"

Again Sarutobi nodded. "Security can relax if no one is there... Or so I thought." There it was again, that crushing guilt, renewed seven fold. "He will meet us there, I have other ANBU already running pursuit sweeps."

It was not uncommon for poorly thought assassination attempts to be tried on the boy – they were always thwarted by ANBU however. But those time the Hokage had a "protect Naruto" _mission_, not just patrols. The ANBU were on the mission because it always came to the Hokage's ears that an attempt was coming, whether through random scouting ANBU or loyal shinobi, they had been able to stop the ones they had not caught by accident. Sarutobi could count on one hand haw many times it was tried. Most people respected or at least feared the Hokage enough to not push it. So...

"How did this happen?"

Shiki spared the younger man a worried look.

"You are free, and thank you." Before the chuunin could finish his bow the third Hokage of Konoha bellowed, "Let's GO!"

o o o o o

A peaceful night away from the lunes of Konoha was now going to be interrupted. A peaceful night of tea and her husbands return... which might make the night less peaceful...

But it was lost now, almost guaranteed. They rarely had visitors, so herself and Shiki almost always had visitors who stayed long. But at least their warning field gave them a head start of these unexpected occurrences. Thus, she took a moment to bleed away her frustration be fore she turned her attention to the warning jutsu.

What was curious was that there were three and a half people coming. Saesa new what that meant. Opened the door off her porch and returned into her house. She came out a moment before the visitors made it to her doorstep. Hiashi and his tag-along guards landed with deep kneed stances. The commanding man straitened, and then bowed deeply.

"Yes, Hiashi-san?" The guards suppressed their surprise at the form of address. It was always "sama", always.

He lifted the boy in his arms like a bloody sacrifice. "Uzumaki."

Her eyes widened on her fifteen year old appearing face. She nodded, "Follow."

She turned around and moved to a latch in the floor. The warning jutsu signaled (a tickled at the base of the skull) the arrival of four strangers as well as her husband.

"Leave your other followers, just you." She then turned to the closest one, "Muzaku, would you please tell that old monkey to follow us in, and to bring only those he needs."

The chuunin poorly hid his surprise that she knew him by name. He also guessed "that old monkey" was going to be an interesting person. The Hokage qualifies.

With that Saesa lead the Hyuuga leader down the trap door. The dark was thick, and so without a whisper the man activated his Byakugon. Wood, everything was made of wood. Without cut or seam, just one solid piece of wood weaving several tunnels into the ground. Placing her hand on an elaborate seal in the wall, she push chakra in. Hiashi's eyes widened as it flowed along the walls and tunnels, like a chakra circulatory system, reaching release seal place periodically, turning the chakra to visible light.

Without a second thought she marched right down the biggest tunnel to the room not far away.

It looked just like a hospital waiting room. After that, locked door to what was obviously the place where Saesa performed her rare operations. He unlocked the door in indicated Hiashi to follow.

Inside the walls, the floors, the ceiling, all were covered in vast arrays of seals. They seemed to focus on four places where varying operations could be preformed based on the need. Saesa pointed to the third.

Hiashi hurried over and hurriedly placed Naruto at their center. His head hit the cold floor a bit hard and Saesa gave Hiashi a near bone-snapping scowl.

"Thank you, and out! No one comes in here until I come out."

Hiashi wasted no time. It irked him how much he did not wish to risk her ire.

Saesa moved over to the boy. His cloths were slashed, and eyes still sickening, but there were hardly and marks on his torso.

She performed the tree seals needed for a basic diagnostic jutsu. She searched his heart.

_Good, its beat is strong._

Liver.

_No major toxic leak._

Appendix.

_Apparently he doesn't still have his._

Lungs.

_Lots of blood, most of it clotted. No tissue damage. What the hell?_

Spleen, gal bladder, adrenal, throat.

_Good, good, good, bad._

The neck was externally healed but the insides seemed to be ravage, especially around his vocal cords. Still, even in the time she was inspecting it the condition seemed to improve. She let out a held breath.

_That must be it... Thank you, Kyuubi,_ she unwillingly admitted.

She moved from the body to a nearby seal center. A few hand signs and a palm slammed into the complex designs and she had an advanced analasys justsu running at phenomenal detail.

_Thank you, husband of mine_, she said, admiring the handiwork.

Focusing on Naruto she could see the Kyuubi's chakra, leaking past the seal and conglomerating heavily in the throat and less so in the lungs.

She applied more chakra to the seal below and approached the task she had been dreading. Narrowed in on his eyes she could see the worst. Well, not all was the worse, he had suffered no brain damage. However, his eyes had no chakra flowing through them.

Any and she might have been able to help the kyuubi recover them, but even though masses of that red chakra tried, the could not enter the eyes to heal them.

Saesa's head tipped down to floor, straight brunet lock falling forward. She let out a breath of air again, this time a sigh of disappointment.

"You seem to have this under control, Kyuubi." She said as she grabbed an IV bag and trolly from a seal on the wall. "Please don't eject this too quickly," she asked as she poked Naruto with it. She opened the IV's drip speed as far as she dared and then bent over, finishing the healing over his throat. Satisfied, and yet still so far from it, she turned and exited the waiting room.

"Naruto?" The Hokage asked, is voice both fierce and afraid.

"He will survive," She eyed the Uchiha as she replied. Turning back to the Hokage, "Can Itachi go look over the boy."

The old man caught her drift and nodded sagely.

"Good, thank you Saru. Tell us if he wakes up, boy."

Itachi raised his eyebrows slightly, nodded himself, and entered the operation room. Saesa chakra sealed the door behind him. She she turned back around to face her fellows, her eyes were grave.

"His eyes are gone. There is nothing I can do to save them. I don't even know if using implants will work, the chakra flow has been completely severed."

This statement worried them all.

She continued, "I don't see anyone offering a working set of eyes to the boy, even on their deathbed."

The Third grunted recognition, saying, "Good or ill, there is no one recently dead or on their deathbeds in Konoha."

"What would stop the flow of chakra to his eyes?" Shiki asked with a high pitched voice.

"There is a rare Iwa fungi that can reduce or sever chakra flow if its prepared right, but I don't think anyone knows how to prepare it aside from myself. Its been that way at least a hundred years," Saesa considered. For a time they sat in silence.

"Kyuubi?" Sarutobi asked.

"The nine-tails would not have been sabotaging his own host. I didn't hardly needed to treat the boy." She said then inclined her head to Hiashi, "By the time he was here most of his injuries were healed and the ones left the Kyuubi's chakra was swarming through, giving a truly astonishing healing rate. The chakra was burning off infected or dead tissues and regrowing near the fastest I have seen. I think the nine-tails has a vested interest in keeping Naruto alive."

"What if he had to prioritize? Try and heal the eyes and the rest of the body dies. The boy was reported to have between ten and twenty chest stabbings. That might have been enough to do it," Shiki offered.

"All over the torso, not just the chest," Saesa corrected. "And your right it might have been. But even then, the boys own chakra should be at least trickling in to the damaged area." A few more moments as they all considered before she continued. "Saru, I need to clean out the area. I can inspect it in more detail then. But you need to think about his rehabilitation."

Throughout there conversation Sandaime had his fears both relieved and founded again. How would he rehabilitate? It was daunting.

"Yes, I suppose I will, and a lot of thought it needs." He wished for the pipe he had left behind. "I am not looking down upon you skills, but what about Tsunade?"

Saesa thought long and hard. "I don't think even she can do it. I know she is at least twice as skilled as myself, but the chakra just quit. It will not head with out any chakra flowing though. In all my years I have not heard of a jutsu that can restore the flow from the way it has been blocked. And that's the same problem with a transfer... Blood might flow, nerves might send data, and the natural physical energy side of chakra would be there. But it would not be replenished, and without the replenishing, and without the spiritual side of chakra, they would die. It may take a month, but the child cannot live getting new eye-implants every month." She considered some more. "Then there is the Kyuubi... He might just burn the new eyes away, not recognizing them as part of Naruto. It may not have very much control of what or how he heals.

"Killing the child and using a resurrection jutsu is out of the question. It may free the Kyuubi, you would have to summon him before he got his eyes stabbed out, and returning all of his free will to him... it just wouldn't work. I see no way Tsunade could help"

The old and aging man sighed.

"I need to get to the surgery." Saesa said and snapped around, heading to the door. When she opened it

Itachi was leaning over the child, hand near his throat.

o o o o o

Itachi entered the room, the door shut behind him. He doubted anyone would come for the boy, and even if they did they would need to face the Hokage and Hiashi before they could threaten the child. And those strange teenagers.

He stood near, tip of his toe touching the child's head. He reached down to the container on his thigh.

_Pop_, it's top flipped open.

A quiet _scrape_ as he withdrew one of the items it contained.

The _whoosh_ as he brought it up.

The _crunch_ as he took a bite. Mmm, pocky. Peach flavor today.

He resisted the desire to close his eyes as he enjoyed the treat. Safe or not, he was taking his assignment as serious as any other one.

Now, Itachi was one who always frowned upon mixing pleasure with work. Pocky was certainly pleasure (He hummed unconsciously as he munched away), and we was treating this like work, but that didn't necessarily mean it _was _work. He was just treating it seriously... Aside from the pocky, that is.

He inspected the whisker-like grooves along the child's cheek. Kyuubi container, is it? Even though he was only 6 at the time, he heard enough to figure out just _who_ the Kyuubi's prisoner was.

So why would the civilians antagonize him? They think he was the Kyuubi? So _why _antagonize him? Did not enough people die the first time, or did they wish more deaths? Seems foolish. Logically, if it can liquefy you with a sneeze, don't throw rocks at it.

But even so, this boy was not the kyuubi. Being in ANBU allowed him to hear of the childs most notable activities, which consisted of irreverent pranks and very frantic run-away chases. No murders yet. Accept the attempts on him, of course.

Which brings up another point as to why the child was not the kyuubi: The kyuubi would never lay there so helpless. In fact, the Kyuubi would never be so helpless. Itachi imagined how easy it would be to just reach down and break the child's neck. Simple as that, this was not the Kyuubi.

And thats when the door opened. Itachi became aware of where his hand had strayed to, that he look to be in the process of breaking the boys neck. He looked over at the lady; she avoided his eyes and did not hardly move. Itachi frowned. But he was not scene by the others, they could not view him in the room from where they sat.

"You are done guarding the boy," Saesa said plainly as she shut the door behind her.

"You fear my Sharingan?" Itachi asked with a detached voice.

"No, but it's a natural defensive reaction to avoid anything that can put me in genjutsu in an instant. Forgive me," she said, none too sorry.

"mmf," Itachi replied as he extracted another pocky from his ever-present holster.

"Were you trying to kill the boy?" Saesa asked simply.

"No," Itachi replied with the same distant voice and expression. He took another bite.

"Report to your Hokage," She ordered, opening the door. Itachi took a moment to finish his pocky before nodding and stepping through.

_I do need to not mix pleasure with work,_ Itachi mused as he considered his extreme loss of awareness.

o o o o o

Saesa moved over Naruto. She inspected him, not with the cold eyes of emergence she used before, but ones softened to his misery. She looked to the IV, seemed that the needle had been forced out, the skin now flawless where she had punctured him. She replaced the needle for a sterile one and struck it in him again. She watched as it ever-so-slowly was pushed back out. It clinked on the hard floor.

Saesa shook her head and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Hiashi-san!" She shouted. He moved to the operating door. "Let's check one more time, and this time I ask to use you Byakugon... just to be sure."

He nodded and activated it.

After a long time he nodded, saying solemnly, "I believe you assessment is right."

o o o o o

_That's a big eye_, Naruto exclaimed.

He had woken up, hearing a constant dripping. Maybe that's what roused. Either way, it was the hardness of the floor he was laying on that encouraged him to move. He had sat up, opened his eyes, and inspected the room around him. It was dark, poorly lite, and he could see how wet the place was. His child's curiosity pushed him to explore.

Hallway after hallway full of identical poorly lit rooms had made the exploring a lot less interesting. For some reason, he felt like his body should be in an insane amount of pain, but it only ached. He thought his head should hurt too, which it did, however, it seemed like it was supposed to hurt a lot more than it did.

He rubbed his eyes to clear them, and that's when he felt it. It was a killing intent, and it seemed to grow as he crept along the corridor. He heard breathing, or at least that what he figured it to be. It sounded more like a mountain moving in the far distance, but it was too patterned to be that. When he worked up the nerve to peek around, he couldn't pay attention to anything else in the room. He only saw one big eye, looking as though he was seeing the creatures profile, except, all he saw was the eye.

A man sized eye. Which looks very big to a child.

_That's a big eye!_ He repeated. Then, a huge force of killing intent washed over him. It made his jaw want to shake, so he set it. It made his knees want to give, so he locked them. It made him want to hide, so he cross stepped, making his whole body appear to the adversary.

Then there was a laugh. It was powerful, it even masked that constant dripping for a moment. It made Naruto want to cower and sob, so he placed his hands on his hip, looked directly into the eye, and smiled until his blue eyes squinted shut.

"Ha ha ha, impressive," the Kyuubi admonished.

_Eyes can talk? _Naruto opened his own and looked back. He realized now he could see a grinning (snarling?) mouth full of child sized teeth. It made him want to shiver, so he stiffened his body. He wasn't going to run away, not ever!

Then the head turned so two man sized eyes where on him, and the killing intent more than tripled.

Naruto passed out, taken by the darkness.

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* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hey, there is chapter 2.

For those fans of the original:

These last chapters have been very much like the original, but chapter 3 and 4 will be moving away in larger amounts. I have different plans for many things, so I hope you enjoy the changes. Remember, it will be a different ride. Please don't hate me (lol).

For new people:

I hope you enjoyed it! What'cha think of Itachi, eh? Kinda strange, kinda scary? He will play a decent sized role in this arc. I am considering breaking the story into clear arcs, but I can't tell you what they are yet. Hehehe.

Psalm Of Fire

Oh, and it is currently 4500-ish words. Told you it would be bigger.


	3. Enter the Darkness

Chapter 3

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Soft. That's what Naruto felt. Wow, that was a change. The last thing he remembered was a crushing killer intent, and then crushing fear. And before that... not so sure what was before that. But he remember it was supposed to be painful. Very.

So yeah, soft was nice.

He hear whispering voices as well, but they were unclear. And that why he just laid there, for 10 minutes, drifting on the edge of consciousness. Until... he got bored.

He reached over and scratched and itch on his other arm that had decided to irritate him. Then, he leaded up on his elbows. He thought about opening his eyes, but they seemed to be blindfolded very tightly.

"Your awake," an unfamiliar voice mentioned.

First time Naruto tried to talk, he croaked. Which was kind of embarrassing ofter hearing a voice that sounded so badass. But he tried again.

"Yeah. Hey, why do you have my eyes covered?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't cover them," The voice replied while Naruto picked at the "blind fold". Man, the back of his eyes hurt. It was giving him a bit of a headache.

"So do you know who did?"

"I think her name is Saesa."

"Never hear of that name before. Boy or girl?"

"Girl," The badass voice replied.

"Ah man, I was caught by a girl," Naruto shuddered at the cooties. "I'm going to have to shower."

The cool voice grunted.

"So who are you?" Naruto asked, adjusting his pillow so he could lean against the wall. Soft was very nice.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Naruto froze. He had pulled enough pranks to know "Uchiha" was synonymous with the Konoha police.

"Did I get caught?" Wait that didn't sound right. He hadn't done any pranks the last week. He tried again, "Why am I here?"

...The last few weeks. He had been avoiding prank because his birthday was coming up, because everybody hated doubly him on his birthday. So did the crazy man who...

Naruto threw up all he had, which was basically just bile. His breathing became almost panicked.

"So you remember."

o o o o o

An hour earlier Saesa had the Uchiha pick the boy up and carry him from the operating table.

"We're going to need his opinion before you can make many decisions about his future, don't you think," Shiki mentioned in a low voice while the group followed out.

"You're right. Oh, I wish it hadn't ended up this way," Sarutobi mourned.

"The present. Remember what I said?" Shiki turned a demanding expression to the Hokage, then quoted himself, "Naruto is here now, and not in the past. Here and now, Sarutobi, deal with that."

The Third considered for a while. "Naruto may not be here any more, Shiki. We may have someone entirely different on our hands. Some who is a lot less optimistic, some who is bitter and has every right to be..." The words were laced with pain.

Shiki sighed. He spoke as the reached the stairs, "That way be true, but the concept still applies. And if it is true, you have a lot of work to do in order to make things right. They may never be "right", but a destroyed Naruto cannot be your legacy."

They reached the top of the stair, stepping in to the lamp light.

"You are absolutely right," Sarutobi said, his expression hardening to granite.

_Ah, there's that fierceness that's been missing, practically since the attack. It is good to see,_ Shiki thought, a smile spreading across his face. His wife smiled at the same time, guiding Itachi to the spare room.

Left in the hallway, Sarutobi turned that fierce face to his friend. Shiki's eyes widened a bit, Both he and Hiashi trying guess what was coming next.

With Naruto safely under covers Saesa spoke to Itachi, "Very good, that was much more gentle than trying to choke him."

Itachi turned an impassive face to her. He stared at her for a while. Then, he reached down and with drew another pocky stick from its holster.

"You are going to watch, not try and kill him, and come get me when he is awake." All this was said too quiet for those in the hall to hear. In fact, the munching on the pocky was much louder.

Itachi nodded his head in agreement and then Saesa left.

When she came back out, she could see the slightly afraid expression on her husbands face, the ever elegant and impassive on Hiashi's face, and the intense and satisfied look on the Hokage's.

"You can't back out after that sermon," Sarutobi said, dripping with that satisfaction. Shiki stuttered and stumbled over his response.

"What can he back out of?" Saesa snapped.

Sarutobi looked a bit more concerned as he faced the man's wife. "Taking care of the kid, or at least being apart of the rehabilitation."

A smile, huge and full of warmth, worked its away across her face. "We'd love to," She said breathily, full of sweet. Shiki sagged in resignation, he couldn't fight them both, if ever could have fought one.

"Yeah, we will," He concluded, and brightened back up after a moment.

Sarutobi turned to Hiashi, "Thank you greatly for taking care to bring the boy here. If you wish to have a hand in his rehabilitation, we may arrange that. As for now, we do not need to waste any more of you're time."

Hiashi could here the respect he had earned in the man's words. Even for his great stature among the clans of Konoha, it was very uncommon to hear the Hokage like that. And it all showed in its greatest in Sarutobi's offer to allow him a hand in helping Naruto.

Most people may think that helping/serving a blind child would be an insult to the leader of one of Konoha's top two clans, but this is Sarutobi. The same man, who a moment ago re-found his fire concerning the boy, would trust Hiashi enough to allow something like he suggested. This all had great political implications, especially Naruto.

With a bow, Hiashi left, leaving one of his tired chuunins to monitor the situation.

"Let's discuss our options, so maybe we can present them to Naruto. It would make it easier for him, I hope. Kami knows he doesn't need any ting else harder than it has to be."

"Mmhmm," Shiki replied as Saesa led them to the living room full of overstuffed couches. Sarutobi sank into one, while Seasa curled her knees under her, looking more fitting for the age she appeared than the age she was.

Shiki pulled out a scroll from the many attached to him and asked, "Tea or Sake?"

"Nothing alcoholic, after all this I _don't_ need to wake up with a headache."

Shiki nodded and withdrew a caffeinated green team blend. He turned an inquiring face to his wife.

"I'll have strawberry tea," Seasa said.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "You have strawberry tea and you give me green?"

Shiki smirked.

"Would you like to trade?" Saesa asked.

Getting up off the couch the way old men do, Sarutobi reached out and traded with the Ever-Young, mumbling something about how he was "always saving the best for himself".

With the tea delivery complete, Shiki rolled up his scroll and returned it to his blue pocketed top. He removed a blank scroll, unsealed an ink well and pen, and they started discussing.

o o o o o

"I... remem..." Naruto could not finish. He choked on the words, placing a fearful hand on what he now recognized as bandages.

"I will go get her," Itachi said tonelessly.

Naruto listened to the sound of his steps, an opening door, and then his steps again as they receded. He was still choking on the boulder in his throat. He was glad his throat was still there, once that fact came to his attention. He remembered the man ripping it out over and over until Naruto could not scream for help any longer... Not like anyone would have come anyways. The seven year old knew this, he could understand he was hated, even if not _why_.

Still trying to swallow the boulder, he became grate full for his healers skill. Maybe, maybe she had healed his eyes too! They were stabbed out, just like his throat, so it stood to reason she just might be able to!

He still had a sinking feeling though, as he moved his eyes. It didn't feel the same as normal, but that could just be something that would wear off, after all, they _had_ been stabbed out.

He reached to feel his chest. There were no bandages? It was easy to check through all the holes in his shirt, but the skin was completely healed.

He had had it bad. That fact everything felt so fine, internally and externally also made his opinion of the healer rais. If it was that woman, maybe he wouldn't need to shower the cooties off quite so fast...

Still his head hurt, so she wasn't perfect. That meant he might not have his...

He tried to cut that line of thought off. The only thing else not normal was the fact he was a tiny bit sore and not feeling like he could crawl out of his skin with energy.

He heard the several pairs of feet approaching, the new pairs stepping softly. Before they reached the door he could hear there breathing.

_So my ears are still fine. Makes sense, seeing as he didn't attack them._ _Who breathes that loud anyway? _

They all stepped in, Naruto could hear them arranging them around his room. The Uchiha guy just stayed at the door where he came in.

"Its good to see you're awake. I hear you can talk," Sarutobi said coaxingly.

"Maybe," the blond mumbled.

"How do you feel?" The Hokage asked. The others remained still, leaving the situation in his hands.

Naruto moaned. "Bored, and my head hurts a little." He could not see there surprised expressions, that wasn't expected. He decided to continue, excitement in his voice, "So my body is all better, and I'm not bleeding... Hey, aren't you supposed to die when you bleed a lot? Because I bled _a lot_."

Saesa nodded. When the expectant expression remained she realized the stupidity of her action. "Uhm, yes, you would die. But you didn't."

"Yeah, that's great! Are you the girl who fixed me?"

Saesa hesitated before she confirmed.

"Thanks! You're a lot better than those other hospital people. I get well most of the time, but sometimes they forget the pain killers and stuff."

Sarutobi cringed. _Someone_ was going to pay for that.

Naruto continued, "Anyway, I don't ache very much. Everywhere but my head feels fine. Except, I am a little more tired than usual."

"That would be the blood loss – and all the healing that was needed," Saesa explained to his curious face.

"Oh, okay! That's good to know, because, you know, it's weird being tired and stuff." Those surrounding smiled and Itachi tipped his head. "Oh yeah, thanks for my throat ma'am!" A big grin split his face.

That tugged on Saesa's heartstrings.

His smile melted and sagged away, and then his face grew pensive.

"What about my eyes?"

Sarutobi stepped in before Saesa had a chance, sparing her. "She tried her hardest, Naruto. She could not save them."

The vibrance in Naruto deflated. He leaned back against his pillow. "Oh" was all he said.

"You should thank her for trying so hard though," Sarutobi mentioned. Naruto missed the guilty look Saesa gave the Hokage.

"Thank you ma'am," His voice was forlorn but authentic.

Most of the time Naruto had kept himself busy as a child. He would run around with his overwhelming energy and push himself. Because when he laid down at night, when he was no longer distracted from thinking, he would see the hateful faces and wonder why. Why? Why was he hated. Was he a bad person? What did he do? Was he just evil? Was he _that_ worthless?

He would try not to think about it, but there was nothing else there but those hateful eyes that filled the crowds. Maybe if the ANBU didn't wear masks he would get to see their exasperated faces when they found his next prank. That would be a welcome change. But no, they were masked and by far, those hateful faces full of rejection and despising where the most common thing he would see throughout the day. So when he closed his eyes, and there was darkness, that's what would greet him.

Now there was just darkness. _Scary thought,_ thought the seven year old. Then he realized something else

"I guess, I may be tripping all the time and stuff, but I won't have to see all those mean faces."

_He actually said that with some brightness in his voice... he's already looking for the positive, _The old man thought. But Sarutobi could still see fear was starting to make the boy tremble.

"...but, I'm going to miss yours old man," Naruto concluded softly. He let the memory of the wrinkles, and the smiles that brought more wrinkles, and the pipe fill his minds eye.

Sarutobi felt the tears well up. _Of all the things in the world he could miss..._

He moved down beside the boy, sitting next to him, the Hokage gave him a one armed hug, squeezing him tight. He indulged, _just a few tears_, not taking the effort to wipe them. Naruto leaned into him, his head tucked back on his chest, and wrapped his little arm around the old man's back as far as he could in return.

A few tears later, as that was all he would allow himself, the Hokage let go, stood up, turned and face the boy, and then kneeled into a deep bow. The other's looked on, both surprised and understanding.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

Naruto heart ached when the old man left his side, but he herd him bend down, and he heard the voice coming below him. Naruto tensed. So much was going through him, what to do?

Tentatively he reached out his hand where he thought the Hokage's head to be. His little finger bumped into the fore head, Naruto corrected his course, then he placed his hand in the old man's hear. He rubbed awkwardly and said, "It's... ...okay..."

_Right now, with all this, and he's trying to comfort me?_ A few more tears than the Hokage allowed slipped past. He tipped his head down and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the flow. As soon as they did, his face became resolute. Maybe even the fires of hell would be put to shame if they saw what was in the mans eyes, the man once called the "God of Shinobi".

Sarutobi stood back up and placed a hand on the child's shoulder. It felt warm, it felt like hard ground for him to stand, it felt like a lifeline of sorts.

With s deep voice, Sarutobi said,"We need to talk about what happens now."

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* * *

**Author's Notes:**

There it is! Chapter 3 is a return to the first chapter's length, approximately 2.7k. Reviews detailing your reaction – maybe even in phases – to what happened it this chapter would be awesome!

Here is a guideline to make it easier: (indicate what chapter it is as well)

Phase 1 -Naruto's Awakening

Phase 2 - Sarutobi/Shiki conversation

Phase 3 -The Saesa/Itachi thing (no, not shipping, you fools!)

Phase 4 - Naruto's Inner Dialogue

Phase 5 -Naruto's reaction and conversation with the Hokage

Phase 6 -Chapter Ending and Overall satisfaction

Feel free to skip one if you don't want to talk about it.

Again, I mourn the empty seat that is my "beta chair".


	4. Future

Chapter 4

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"Let me introduce you. This is your healer, Houraisan Saesa-sama." Sarutobi said.

"Hi, Naruto," She responded in her girly voice.

"Good to meet you, ma'am," Naruto said, turning his face to her.

"This is Houraisan Shiki-sama, her husband."

Naruto turned his head to the man, before he spoke, surprising him.

"Hello chibi," He said. "How did you do that?"

"Hmm?"

"Face me before my voice showed where I was."

"Well, the Uchiha is at the door and your not very quiet..."

"Ah, right."

Sarutobi continued, "And I guess you and Itachi spoke."

"Yeah, he seems pretty cool."

"I'm pretty cool," Itachi echoed distantly.

"Yeah... and so was that guy who helped me. Who was that?"

"That was Hyuuga Hiashi-san," Sarutobi answered. This made Naruto raise is brow. It was easy for him to know the status of the Hyuuga clan in the time he lived.

"I guess I owe him one," Naruto mumbled. "Who was the girl?"

The lot of them seemed confused... except Itachi, who still seemed to be pondering his "coolness".

"Naruto, Hiashi didn't mention any female when he found you, was she there before?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they came together," He replied. They mused for a time before Naruto continued, "So what do you have in- Wait, did you say husband? Isn't she, you know, a little young? Both of you?"

The Ever-Young chuckled together.

"They sound it," Sarutobi had considered saying "look it", but he did not want to remind Naruto of what he was missing; those two were something worth seeing. "But, they are far older than myself."

This ended up being a concept that Naruto had much difficulty understanding. After some attempted explaining Naruto gave up and returned to his original question.

"So what do you have in mind old man?"

Sarutobi nodded to Shiki.

"We want to offer our hand in you rehabilitation."

Naruto's smile split his face clean in half, squishing his eyelids shut in the familiar jesture. Somebody wanted him? In any way? At all?

He scratched the back of his head, saying, "he he, sure!"

"You may want to give it a chance to hear the rest. But first, tell us what you want do," Sarutobi said with amusement.

"I wanna be a ninja!" Naruto shouted, then his face fell, "But I guess that can't happen now."

"Why do you want to be a ninja?" Shiki asked with the air of professional curiosity.

"Well, everybody avoid me, or hates me. But if I was a ninja, maybe they wouldn't. And if I was a really awesome ninja, and protected them from things like that Kyuubi the Fourth did, then maybe they would even like me!" They thought of nothing but the bitter irony. "Except, with out dieing, you know..." More irony. "I guess, maybe there would still be people who would still hate me, but are those people worth trying to be friends with?"

Good logic and the purist intentions unknowingly declaring most of Konoha unworthy. Sarutobi wondered how far the declaration was from true.

"You know that you would be protecting those that are cruel to you now, you know that right?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Naruto seamed to consider. "But, if your walking along and your starving, and you come across an apple tree to find almost all the fruit is rotten, you don't leave it to the birds. You eat what you can. Beside, I have you, and Ichiraku, and maybe Shiki and Saesa – and maybe Itachi! I could have found three friends tonight, maybe I will have some more by the time I'm an awesome ninja!" And then he remembered and his enthusiasm left again.

"Have you thought about a civilian job," Sarutobi probed.

"What's a civi- civililan?" Naruto asked, the air still heavy.

"It's someone who is not a ninja," Shiki answered.

"Oh..." Naruto again took time to think. "I don't think I could get a job, and if I opened my own shop only you guys and Teuchi and Ayame would come. And if Itachi was really cool." This set Itachi back to his musings. "But even then I don't think I could sell enough of whatever I had. Unless it was ramen!" He seemed to consider this for a bit longer. "Naw, Teuchi does ramen and I can only cook the cup ramen. I don't want to make him mad, and then I would see him less." His mind drifted for a bit before he remembered the original question. "No, I don't think I would get very far."

_That seemed well thought out. Mostly. So he has considered it before, _Sarutobi thought.

"Do you still want to be a ninja," Shiki asked, still holding his air of professional curiosity,

"What else could I want, to be a beggar? But maybe thats all thats left for me because I blind," Naruto both spit the last word out and bit it off. It seemed very un-Naruto, and made Sarutobi feel like he was now actually seeing what was going on inside the boy.

"That is not enough to live for, is it," Shiki answered on the Hokage's encouragement.

"Doesn't seem like it..." He replied, sound as though he might still try to find good in his new life.

"It may not have to be your future." Naruto looked up confused. Sarutobi continues, "As you already know, Shiki and Saesa have both offered a hand, and I can think of no one better to help compensate for your blindness with, how would you put it, awesome jutsus."

For Naruto, it was almost like the ramen gods poured their finest for his bath. Thats to say, he was very excited for the idea, at that level only Naruto could achieve.

"Yeah! That would be awesome!" He was bursting.

"It would take a lot of hard work, and I would push even harder. It would be the hardest thing you have ever tried," Shiki made his warning clear.

"Yeah but then I wouldn't die from being bored or falling in a spiked pit or something."

To that, Sarutobi became very concerned. Gravely he asked, "Has that happened before?"

Naruto looked at him with utter confusion. "No, I just was saying, if your blind you might fall into a spiked pit or something. Or die of boredom. Jeez, you need to lighten up old man."

Sarutobi gave a great sigh of relief internally.

"So what kind of awesome jutsus? Will I know where people are by setting them on fire? Can I get new eyes... that see fear? Because if a ninja is badass, then a blind ninja must be super badass, and that means people would fear me, so If I could see fear, I would have no problem!" His enthusiasm slowed none as the ideas stumbled to come out over each other.

Shiki placed his hand out, then dropped it down feeling a bit foolish, and then qualified the promises, "We don't know if we can, or how much we can make up for your sight. Saesa and I are pouring though ideas, and we have a lot, but we don't know how many are actually possible. And, we don't know if you have what it takes." The last part was mostly bait, but still a worthy concern. It would be a _massive_ undertaking.

"I have what it take, you just see. I will be a ninja! I will be the best ninja in Fire Country! I'll make those people see me as more than a bad person, you just see mister, I'm gunna be a ninja!" Naruto declared it with absolute certainty and absolute defiance.

The three broke into a grins... and Itachi mumbles something like, "Itachi is cool. I'm cool. Hmm... Badass jutsus, hmm..." and withdrew another pocky stick.

"That's good to hear Naruto," Sarutobi answered with the blond's spreading enthusiasm. "We think it would be best if you stayed here with the Houraisans for a while, at least getting yourself adjusted and getting your training daily."

At "training daily" Naruto's enthusiasm only grew.

"The goal is to get you functioning well enough to join the academy, maybe even with students your age. But lets start with a smaller sub goal. First is teaching you how to be a blind person. That comes tomarrow," Saesa joined the conversation. "I will be the one who does that. But, to make up for your lack of sight, Shiki will get you into learning your chakra control, and then hopefully we will find out your element. Thats when the real progress will begin, so lets speed through these things as soon as your well enough, okay?"

Naruto nodded his head so hard that, had he still had them, Saesa was afraid his eyes might pop out and splat on the floor.

"I will have to join you soon, Naruto. But for now, this 'old man' needs his rest."

Shiki nodded, and Sarutobi turned to leave.

"Itachi," the Third said as he left, "You and your men are to keep Naruto's location and assault classified. Understood?" The Hokage was intense.

Itachi nodded and both men left the house.

Sarutobi encourage the Hyuuga chuunin to return to the clan compound, but refused, saying he needed more details before he reported, and was to only report back in the morning.

Sarutobi let it rest, thinking there wasn't too much harm in letting the boys savior know some of what was going on. Then he gave the man the same warning as Itachi, excluding Hiashi from the people restricted from the knowledge.

"Understood," He said stiffly, trying to fight the sagging eyes.

With that, the Hokage left "training area 69".

Naruto layed back against his pillow and turned to Saesa. "Uh, ma'am, I'm really thirsty."

"I bet you are. Don't call me ma'am, just Saesa, k?"

"Okay Saesa, can you get me some water..." The boy sounded awkward asking. "I would get it myself, but, uh, I'm blind." Then his hand flew up, "Unless you can just show me were the water is, or point... I mean say."

"No, I can get you water and then you need to lay back down, hopefully sleep."

Naruto's young head bobbed, grinning his thankfulness to a painful point.

"I may see you tomorrow Naruto. I hope I do, but I also might be gone for a few days. Good night."

He grinned even bigger. "Good night." He had someone to say that to. It was a real moment for the boy.

Saesa returned with the water.

"Tomorrow we begin."

"Tomorrow," Naruto agreed, finished with the water. He tried to figure out where to set it down, then offered it back with a shrug. Grinning, he flopped back down on the bed.

Tomorrow.

o o o o o

Tomorrow the sunshine came, sending its rays to scattered through the soaked world, almost making Konoha look like a new born puppy, almost like it was innocent of its crimes and cruelty. But it was one soul more innocent.

When the Hokage had reached his spare bed in the Hokage tower, he was met merely minutes later by ANBU. They had a full report.

It went like this: "The assailant was stabbed to death and abandoned in an ally sixty yards North East from Naruto's location."

This brought up more questions than answer, and the scrambled mess it was making of the Sandaime's brain served only to further convince Sarutobi's need for sleep. He lay in the room, filling the elaborate protection seals with his chakra, adding two of his own, and drifted to sleep with merciful speed.

He would not lay awake this anniversary of the Kyuubi attack. He would not be flooded in the doubts and regret that had plagued him since. Maybe it had something to do with his new resolve, the resolve to change what was in the here and now. Maybe thats what gave him the peace.

And then he awoke to his alarm. Stepped out of his room, brushed off the cloths he had never changed out of, and thanked the gods that he had chosen to avoid the hangover.

And then he climbed to the roof of the Hokage tower, loosening his joints on the unforgiving stairs, and seeking a place where he could set his mind in order.

The breeze swished at the pieces hanging from the traditional hat. The had risen behind him, revealing his long sleep. He looked out over Konoha, suddenly wishing the rain had cleared their hearts.

So what would he do? How would he save Konoha from their own crimes, from their own hearts? He rubbed a temple with his left hand as his right lay on the railing he stood by. There he stood, for quite some time, considering the ways to change a man, and how to use those to change a village.

He was only so young, and his conclusion was that he would not be the one to do it. People get so suborn, finding peace in their old habits even if it destroys another.

So he would change the children, or at least stamp his heart on them enough, that maybe with a little luck or divine will, it would ripple through the generations and make Konoha, maybe even the Fire Country, a different place.

So start with the small goals, thats what they teach you. Is a goal labeled "Naruto" small enough. The old man laughed, projecting it beyond the building and into the streets. No, Naruto never made anything small.

So what would be his first miniature goal...

Brushing his teeth. That was a good place to start.

o o o o o

Sunlight streamed in through the window, warming Naruto's arm. Halfway through consciousness he considered opening hid eyes. Better not, not quite ready to wake.

As he drifted closer to the real world, he realized what an erroneous thought that was. Opening his eyes would not make a difference. Funny how he didn't greet the morning staring at the battered wood ceiling of the apartment that he had just become used to.

He didn't want to think about it, so he tried to force it out of his head with thoughts on training. It worked.

He jumped out of bed and put his hands out in front of waving them around in a ridiculous fashion. He searched the walls a bit, trying to familiarize himself with the room. Once he had made his way to the corner of the room opposite the door (having discovered a positively _huge_ closet, it was twice as big as the one he had at his apartment!) he turned around. No need to be swinging wildly, he knew where the door was. A badass ninja would never be truly badass while swinging around like that at nothing.

And that was the logic that worked until he reached the door, smashed is nose into it, fell back on his butt, and realized that doors can be closed as well – though, that never happened while he was living on his own.

The thumping certainly caught the Houraisan's attention. Saesa didn't jump up, but slowly placed her morning tea down, set her hair in a mid-level ponytail, and then crawled out of the over stuffed couch. She walked into the hallway leading to the boy's room. She opened the door gently and peeked in.

Naruto was still seated, rubbing his nose and scowling fiercely.

"Good... morning... Saesa... -sama," Naruto said between ebbs of pain.

She smiled, it showed in her voice as she spoke, "How did you know that it was me and not my husband? Oh, and don't use the honorific, I'm just Saesa to you."

"Oh, okay," He took his time still rubbing his nose. Man, he had hit that door hard!

"So how did you know it was me?"

"Girls' breathing sounds a lot different than a guy's... why do you breathe so loud anyway?"

This question struck some surprise into Saesa.

"Ano... I don't think that I breathe any louder than any other person," Saesa said while musing.

"Yeah, well you sure sound like it!" Naruto, got up slowly, the hit still disorienting him.

"You must be adjusting to the lack of sight. Did you ever notice that when you used to close your eyes to go to sleep it's like you hearing gets better?"

"Yeah! That must be it. A super badass blind ninja has got to have badass hearing! Still, you breathe louder than anyone I've heard before."

"That's probably because your mind has already started adapting to only having four senses. They will continue to get better, so you know."

"Well it sounded like that since last night. Everyone sounded loud, especially the old man. ...but Itachi didn't, I could barely hear him.

"Now that's interesting. Here," She offered him a hand by toughing her to the inside of his wrist. He took it and blinked under his bandage. "Let me lead you. But your right hand along the wall and tell me when you feel something."

They started walking at a very slow pace. Naruto fought the urge to put a protective hand in front of him, but he was going to trust her and so left his hand along the wall, mostly.

His fingers first brushed the side of something running vertical. IT had all these corners and curves on it that ran up and down. He moved his hands forward more, feeling canvas. He moved his hand back to the vertical part and traced it down. It turned at a ninety degree angle, and then he realized what it was: an ornate frame!

"Is this a picture, like, a painting?"

"Sure is, what do you think of it?" Saesa asked brightly.

Naruto stuck his lip out in a pout and mumble, "I can't see it..."

"I didn't ask if you thought it looked good. You have to take me at my word, Naruto, I am not trying to torment you... though I might considered it," She said a bit maniacally.

Naruto didn't know how to respond. He was used to people being meen to him, not nice, but she didn't seem mean. And, he had had people be nice to him, namely the old man and the ramen stand, but they were just nice. She was being both, so he said the best he could come up with.

"...okay."

She snorted and giggled a bit, sound very much the age she looked.

"But not yet this morning, so you're safe until lunch at the minimum."

This made Naruto's eyes go big. Not easy to see under the bandages, but Saesa caught the expression at the edges.

"Please don't put anything in my food! Last time that happened I had to go to the bathroom twenty two times that day!"

"I just might..." She taunted.

"You can't! At least not until I can go eat at Ichiraku, or something..." The idea of being separated from the ramen stand for any extended length almost set the boy into full panic mode.

She hurried to placate the boy. "I won't put anything in your food for a whole week, I promise," she said with the upmost sincerity.

It didn't seem to help. She looked at him, trying to ascertain the situation. He legs look weak and she saw his mouth moving. She had to put her ears close to hear him muttering "no ramen, no ramen, no ramen...". So that was it?

"Hey, we can get you some ramen. Maybe even today if you and I get a lot accomplished. I hope to go it to town today anyway, we need to get you some new cloths and what-not."

A smile spread as the panic was chased away in Naruto. He spoke as though it were his salvation, "Ichi... raku... ramen?"

"Yes, later. And, only if we get a lot accomplished. Now. Put your hand back on the wall."

"All right Saesa-chan!"

The started taking steps forward, Naruto leaving her behind as he literally shook with excitement.

Next, came door.

"Oh-is-this-the-bathroom-I-really-need-one-is-it?" The words piled out of his mouth.

"No, that would be Shiki's study. Don't go in there without Shiki himself bringing you in. He has a lot of things "organized" on the floor. Can't be messing them up, now." She spoke, looking down at him, realizing that at this point he had lost all caring for what she was saying.

She chirped out the next sentence, "It's the next door on this same wall, don't hurt yourself!"

Naruto dashed off at the fastest walk he dared. He felt the door, opened, and then began groping around. He found the toilet by its water. He shook his hand frantically, spraying drops all around the bathroom, and then opted for the "sit down" mode of relieving himself.

He had all the time it took to relieve his bladder to think about how gross it was that he had put his hand in toilet water.

"How do you flush this thing?"

Saesa heard the voice from beyond the door.

"You pull the chain above you!" She shouted back. She didn't need to shout, but it was fun.

"A chain? Above me? You're weird!"

A moment later she hear the swish of the flush, some fumbling, and then the sink turn on. She waited a minute. And then another. And then another. Was he still washing?

Inside Naruto tried to squirt soap into his hand, but only succeeded in knock it over. He bent down to try and quickly recover it, slamming his head against the counter. He then promptly fell on his butt. _Twice in one day? Awe man, this is **not** badass!_

Saesa hear the smack and cringed for his sake. _If he didn't have the Kyuubi I would almost worry about brain damage on that one. No way it could be anything but his head, limbs don't thud like that._ She sighed and walked past the door into the kitchen. _He can manage._

Naruto spent a good amount of time chasing the cowardly container. He would get close, bump it with his longest finger, and then it would be lost again. After chasing it past the shower he decided to change his search technique to holding his hand flat, above the where the soap could be, and pat down.

He almost had success his next encounter with the elusive container – except he had his hand to rigid and so it pushed the circular thing away.

One thing to say, he now had a pretty good layout of the bathroom when he was done.

He opened the bathroom door and listened. He caught the unfamiliar sound of vegetable being cut, but just barely.

"Oi! Saesa-chan! Are there any doors on the other side of the hallway?"

"No," She shouted back. This time it would be necessary if Naruto had possessed normal hearing. "I'm in the kitchen. The hallway opens up to the living room, and is separated from the kitchen by a half wall. Be careful in the living room, but come here, I almost have breakfast ready."

"Mmpff," Naruto responded.

He worked his way out, and fortunately the first thing he tripped over was a couch. It caught him and ate him the way over stuffed furniture does. He pulled him self free and stood back up.

So just using you arms to search doesn't work, hmm? Narutos solution: Walk around swinging both your arms and swing a foot back and forth with each step.

_This is so not badass,_ He pouted.

Saesa circled around the half-wall and grabbed the boys hand.

"Let me take you to your seat." He trailed hand in hand behind her and then was brought to a table, circular, comfortable for at least four. "Stick out your tongue."

"Wha?"

"Stick it out."

"You don't have one of those battery things do you?"

"What?" It was her turn to enquire.

"The only time anyone has asked me to stick out my tongue and close my eyes the stuck a battery on it. It shocked, and wasn't too bad... But I'm not going to get pranked just because I can take it!" He shouted the last part.

She laughed close-mouthed. "Fair enough, but I didn't ask you to close your eyes," she said as if that explained it all.

He looked at her incredulously.

"I didn't did I?" And then her tone grew dark,"Stick it out."

"Eh heh heh, okay..."

She reached out and tapped the tip with her finger, smiled and said "thank you!"

Naruto tried to think through what just happened. It kept him quite for two complete minutes. He finally wrote if off as "strange things females do".

With that, breakfast was served, and it smelled _amazing._

"Oh yeah! If this stuff tastes like it smells, it's gunna' rock!" Naruto reached around for his spoon, found it, and put it in the soup like concoction.

Normally people would think soup for breakfast would be strange, but Naruto ate ramen for breakfast often anyways, so he didn't ask.

But he did ask, "Where is Shiki?"

"He had to leave before you woke up, but he won't be gone as long as we thought. He should be home in the afternoon tomorrow."

"Ah, alright..." And then he dipped into his soup, making a bit of a mess, but getting to his mouth with most of the concoction onboard.

Seasa physically strained.

"Hmm, this stuff is pretty good. It's no ramen, thats sure."

As he ate Saesa could hardly enjoy hers. Every spoonful mean effort on her part.

_Ah! maintaining a genjutsu on him is hard. It's a lot easier to control the flow of a sleep creek than a raging stream... I never like genjutsu, and now I am supposed to control two of these rivers?_

"You know, this stuff has a funny after taste. You must have put a bad spice in it or something, because it taste really strange every few spoonfuls."

Saesa let her spoon drop and redoubled her efforts. Fortunately for her, Naruto was not a slow eater. Unfortunately, he raised the bowl for seconds.

_Well, at least I'm doing a good enough job that he's still willing to eat it._

Four bowls and one mentally exhausted Saesa later and they were done.

"I'll finish mine, and then we will go out side for your introduction on how to be a blind person."

"Alright..." Naruto's voice was less than enthusiastic.

"I mean training," Saesa faux'ed a correction.

"Alright!"

She guided him to the door and then returned to her seat and flopped on the table.

_Using the genjutsu on myself is going to be a stroll compared to that,_ She said, thinking on her use of it on the boy. Ten minutes later she took the effort and raised her spoon.

Naruto stepped out and stood still. Even the little whiff he just had promised him an amazing experience for his next breath. Bracing himself, he sniffed in the field of flowers for all its glory.

o o o o o

"Okay Naruto, tell me the five senses."

Naruto ponder this, before answering. "Well, there is common sense, street sense... I think I heard some one mention bed sense... fashion sense and non-sense!" He declared with pride.

Saesa tried not to choke up laughing.

"Very good Naruto, now tell me the five physical senses."

He mused some more. "I only heard a little of what that lady was saying, but it sounded like 'bed sense' could fit into-mffph" Saesa placed a hand over his mouth while laughing herself to death. After she had recovered and whipped a tear from her eye she aided him.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the group of senses your eyes belonged to."

"Ohh," Naruto explained with dawning recognition. "Seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing..." He remained lost for a long time.

Waiting for him Saesa walked over to stand beside him. After listening to another corus of "hmm"s she bumped her hip into his shoulder. He stumbled over and demanded to know why.

"What did I just do?"

"You hit me!"

"How do you know I did?"

Naruto looked at her like she was stupid. "Because I fell over, duh!"

_That is true. He's not wrong, so I can't tell him otherwise. ...He seems to just have trouble taking a hint..._

"But before you fell, you knew I hit you, right?"

"Well yeah."

"How?" Her voice was perfectly patient.

"I felt it."

"Name the senses."

Naruto felt the switch back to be a little strange. "Feeling, smelling, hearing, seeing... you said there were five right?"

"Yes, you named the last one earlier."

"Really?"

"Really. This time you missed taste." She enjoy the expression of realization dawning on him. She pitied herself that she would never get to see his eyes do that, it must be something to see – if a bit over-the-top.

"However, I am going to take a detour. We-"

"Whats a 'detour'?"

"It's when you take a different path to get to the same place. Sometimes it's because you can't use the first path you wanted to take, but this time it's because I like the new path better."

He was absorbing it all, almost looking like a puppy discovering the world outside a house for the first time.

"You really are nice," He said simply.

"Thank you, your nice too."

"Eh? But I'm asking a bunch of questions and you're saying stuff I don't get. Questions make people mad, so why do you think I'm nice?" His voice was full of innocence and curiosity.

Saesa thought this through. Always being told not to ask questions might mean she would have a lot of ground to cover.

"There are two kinds of people who don't like questions. The first group is the stupid people. They don't like questions because they don't have the answers. Now, the fact that they don't have the answers is not what makes them stupid. They think _so _much of themselves that not having the answer makes them think they look bad. That is what makes them stupid, because then they go through life too afraid of looking bad to learn why things are the way they are, and then they end up understanding nothing, and then the choices they make are like choosing between to plates of food before they know what food is on them.

"Now not everybody like ramen," she said in a consoling manner," but what if one of those plates would have ramen on them and the other have eggs? Which would you want?"

"The ramen!"

"But what if you didn't know which plate had ramen?"

"That would be dumb. Who would want _just_ eggs, unless you put them on the ramen!"

She had to bring the conversation back before he derailed it.

"Right, so you don't know which one is ramen. For these people, they could ask the person serving them, but they don't because that would make them look stupid."

"That doesn't make _any_ sense."

"Yeah, so they just choose. See why they're stupid?"

"Yeah, because the too afraid of looking stupid that they make themselves stupid. That's stupid!" Naruto said while shaking his head.

"Life is full of choices, right?"

"Uh, yeah I guess."

"So these people do it over and over and over again, and thats how they live there life."

Naruto just kept shaking his head, trying to imagine anyone so stupid.

"Okay, so you like to ask question, right?"

"Yeah... but I don't want to make people mad..."

"So if you ask questions, then you are not stupid, right?"

Naruto didn't understand.

"But don't stupid people only asked question?"

Saesa just gave him a flat stare.

After a time he figured it out.

"Okay, so I'm not stupid like them. But stupid people still have to ask questions."

She gave him a warming smile.

"So would you say that there is more than one kind of stupid?

"Maybe," Naruto said, sitting cross-legged and scratching the back of his head. She sat down facing him.

"What kinds of stupid do you think there might be?"

"Well... the 'not asking questions' stupid you said, the 'not knowing answers' stupid I said... and 'silly' stupid... and maybe 'knowing what to do and doing something else' stupid."

She smiled again. He kept up, looking expectantly for her reaction.

_I need to express in my voice more._

"Very good job Naruto," Her tone held conviction.

He blushed red, squirmed, and scratched the back of his head all at once. It was enough to make Saesa think he had never heard those words before.

"The last one is called 'illogical'. Logic is what makes sense. So... illogical, it's kind of like saying you logic is sick." She laughed at her explanation. It would work, wouldn't it? "So they have 'ill', 'logic'."

"I get it!"

"The second one is called ignorance."

"Ig... nor... ance... Ignore... ance..." Naruto considered deeply. "Does that mean that your ignoring something?"

"It should, shouldn't it." _He used the technique I had to explain the last one just a moment ago. I like... _"But it doesn't. It simply means that you don't know a piece of information."

"Thats stupid."

Saesa chuckled.

"What kind of stupid?"

This was ending up being a lot of mental gymnastics for the Naruto. Strange though, his brain fel so warm. That didn't happen normally when he thought...

"Kind of like, the _sick-sense_ one. Yeah, whoever thought up that word was _sick-sense _stupid then."

She laughed even more. He looked a little embarrassed, so she reassure him he was right.

"So why do you laugh?"

"I like the way you think, it's surprising. That's a little hard to do to me, so a really enjoy it."

"Oh."

"So, back to ignorance. What does it mean?"

There it was again, his head felt warm on the inside.

"'It simply means that you don't know a piece of information.' I think I get it."

The quote was accurate, even to the tone.

"But I don't like its name. Let's change it!"

"Ha ha ha, okay, what do you want to name it?"

"'_Don't-know_' stupid, I like that."

"That could be just as confusing."

Naruto had to say it out loud to get what she meant.

"But at least its not _sick-sense_. If people get confused, it's just because they are '_don't-know_' stupid."

"Good point, mostly. Okay, between you an I, we can use those. On to the last one! The first One! Uh, the one we haven't done!" Saesa declared. He almost made it like a game.

"This is the stupid where people don't ask. It's a part of pride which-"

"What's pride?"

"Okay, that is a huge trail we could follow. We need to finish this one first, so I will use a different way to say it."

"A detour?"

"Yep. Since we are not going to use 'pride', what do you want to name this one?"

Naruto's face settled into a tight one full of thought. He mumbled things along the line of "ignore stupid" and "rich-guy stupid" before settling on "_questions stupid_".

"That's because they don't ask questions," He explained. "It's like they are '_don't-know_' stupid on how good questions are, especially if it help you get ramen."

"Okay then. Three kinds of stupid. Give them back to me."

"You want stupid back? What?"

"Uh, no, I meant say them back to me, so I know you learned. Fancy names first, though."

"Yeah. There is that 'pride' which _questions stupid_ is a part of. Then the 'ignorance' one that is really _don't-know_ stupid. And then... 'illigical'?"

"'Illogical'. Logic is sense, remember?"

"Yeah, so 'illogical' is the _sick-sense _stupid."

"Good. So if you had one, what would it be."

"Oh that's easy, I'm _don't-know_ stupid. It's kind of hard to fix when no one will answer your questions," Naruto answered troubled.

"True, but I am, so maybe we can help that, huh?"

"Cool! Badass ninjas can't be _don't-know_ stupid!"

"Now where were we?"

"You had said '_name the senses_' and I had said '_feeling, smelling, hearing, seeing... you said there were five, right?_' and then you said '_yes you named the last one earlier'_ and then I said '_really?' _ and you said '_really. This time you missed taste. However, I am going to take a detour_' and then I asked what that meant and we talked about it."

_There is was, he matched word, tone, everything for each quote. Why hasn't anyone seen this earlier?_

"My head hurts."

"Sometimes that comes with thinking a lot," Saesa's amusement pulled her out of her muse.

"Really? I don't remember it before. Or at least, there was less burning and stuff..."

Saesa froze. _Burning?_

"Where is it burning." her tone was insistent.

"Inside my head."

"_Where_?" her intensity grew.

"Some in the front" he indicated by gabbing the whole front half of where his brain was, "But there are two places that just feel like they are _burning_. If went into my head right here," He placed his fingers at the highest point the ears connected, "inside there is really starting to hurt."

"Frontal lobe... hippocampus..." She considered. Frontal lobe, that was for decision making and the higher functions, but he said it didn't hurt as bad. Hippocampus, that did few things: aiding dreaming and turning short term memory into long term. That was it!

"Naruto, be as clear as you can. Are you usually good at remembering details?"

"No, not at all. But your really interesting!"

"Come with me," She said, jumping up and dragging him along with her.

Down the stairs, through the chakra illuminated hallways, past the waiting room and into the operation room they flew.

"Lay down here," she put him down on her best diagnostic seal section.

Eight seals later and she saw what was going on, a super concentration of the Kyuubi's chakra was swarming the hippocampus, and to a lesser degree the frontal lobes.

.

.

.

**Author's Notes:**

Here it is, for your reading pleasure, a very massive chapter, and a somewhat cruel ending. Feel free to review... please please please puppy eyes.

You can thank my little brother that this one got here so fast. He did some work around the house that I was going to have to do and kept encouraging me with his thurough enjoyment of it in progress.

Total: 6664 words. Hu'ah!

Psalm Of Fire


	5. Over Helpful

Chapter 5

Kyuubi chakra was swarming the brain. The hippocampus – the part of the brain that committed short term memory into long term – was near drowning in it.

"Naruto, did you focus chakra up to your brain?"

He moaned, "I don't even know how, and didn't try to." He let his head drop back against the cold floor, hoping it would help the pain.

"You didn't do this?"

"I don't know what you are talking about..."

Of course he didn't. A seven year old with no shinobi training would not be able to use chakra like this. It all needed to stop. Now. It was only the regenerating abilities that were keeping him from permanent brain damage.

She drug him over to the center of another seals matrix, placing his head at the direct focal point of where the effect would be. He just kept clutching his head and trying to ignore the discord of ringing that was sounding in his ears along with the pain.

Two hand signs, simple, and all that was needed to activate the chakra suppression matrix. Saesha sat down to Naruto's left where several elliptical ring patterns stretching across the floor met. Off the lines ran the myriad of symbols that gave the seals their abilities. She performed the hand signs and then poked her index finger into the activation point – if more of her hand was used she would not be precise enough to activate a stable field. The rings as well as all their branching detail lit up. First came a weak blue luminance and then a murderous red, shooting up and playing the patterns on the ceiling.

The jutsu quickly choked.

Saesha cursed and tried again, this time keeping her finger at the activation point in an attempt to support the field. Again, the blue light flickered up on the markings, even weaker this time, and was then overtaken as the Kyuubi's chakra fought back with an upsurge.

Naruto's body jerked with the overload, chakra causing the neurons all over his brain to storm. He was nearing unconsciousness, pain blooming all through his head, a growl grinding at the bottom of his skull. Then he hear the shout. He heard, but did not comprehend.

"Kyuubi, you're killing him! Let me heal him, damn it!"

Naruto did not understand, but then again it was mostly turned to mess in his ears. He did focus on the relief that came eighteen seconds later, letting it wash over him, trying to immerse himself in it.

It worked. He slipped unconscious.

Saesha raised a charred left index finger. She had permanently lost the tip, everything past the last knuckle. All of the hair along that arm, however light and little it had been, was singed with trails of smoke drifting away. The muscles and tendons bemoaned every attempt to have them move.

She stared at the boy for a moment, and then began performing analyses jutsus for her arm. The hand signs hardly formed the chakra correctly enough to operate, but in the end she didn't need the unclear results to know what happened. It was (what, fourth degree?) chakra burns.

She worked on healing her arm's motor function first. Then, when she reached her finger the jutsu nocked the ashes that had been the end of her finger off, exposing the fried tissue up to the knuckle. A chakra scalpel and a lost finger tip latter and she was sealing the wound shut.

When the hurried job was finished she drug Naruto to her best neurological operating seal set and began the process of healing whatever she could, glad that there was anything left between his ears.

o o o o o

_Drip, drip, drip..._

Naruto heard the dripping of water to water. It seemed slower than the last time he remembered. His head didn't hurt. In fact, he couldn't feel it at all. That was strange.

And then there was the fact that this place made him uneasy. Why?

He decided to rub his arms together for warmth in the cold dungeon atmosphere. He sat up and considered opening his eyes. It wouldn't make a difference, so he did.

_What!?_

He could see. It was a bit surreal, and the world lack vibrance of color in some places and over vibrance in others, but it was a real step up!

He rubbed his eyes but that only made the image squish a bit differently. He stretched his arms and stood.

It was like his eyes forgot to see while he stood up, but continued their job once he was standing.

_That was really strange_...

Then he heard the voice, with only the strength of a whisper, speaking to him, sounding as though it was reaching across a mist covered lake.

"Weak," it said.

Naruto scoffed, "You don't sound to well yourself."

Thats when ringing sounds appeared in one ear.

"Ow! whats that?"

"It's because your weak."

Now he could tell the voice was echoing up from behind him. It almost seemed like it took time to reach him.

Naruto thought about turning around, and took the step required, but the fact that his eyes still made look like he hadn't turned, his other senses did, and the ringing in his ears began changing sides at will all caused him to fall. He cracked his head on the stone, still seeing the image he saw while standing, and returned to complete unconsciousness.

o o o o o

Sasuke sat, lower lip hanging out, waiting for the doctor lady to arrive. He slouched with his back against the wall near his home's entrance fiddling with one of his sandals It had been forty five minutes that he had been stuck there. Today was his morning for the Sharingan.

...And she was late.

This was normal, and so Sasuke figured he had a right to pout. It was an interesting image when combined with the single tomoe Sharingan active in your left eye and the double tomoe Sharingan active in your right. That was how Itachi found him.

"Stupid Shari'gan. Stupid doctor person." Sasuke muttered as Itachi walked by.

"Don't complain."

"You never have to do this.".

Itachi poked him in the forehead and repeated, "Don't complain," and then left the room.

Sasuke took to beating Itachi's discarded shoe with the sandal he was wielding. He had left his eyes open since he had awakened – like he was supposed to for the checkup – but now they were starting to hurt. Well, actually they had started hurting over an hour ago, which would have been perfect if she had actually showed up when she said she would, but she hadn't.

He tried to find something else to do to keep his eyes open. He wasn't having much success.

"Itachi, it _hurts_!" Sasuke shouted.

A few moments later Itachi reentered the room. He reached down to his holster while walking over to his brother, withdrew a pocky stick, and then placed it an inch from the kids mouth.

"That's not going to make my eyes feel better..."

Itachi grunted, closing the distance between the treat and the mouth by half.

"What flavor is it?"

"Green Tea," Itachi stated simply.

"Ah man, I don't like Green Tea."

Itachi's eyes widened. He then tried to stick the food into Sasuke's closed mouth.

"Mmmpf, Okay okay, I'll eat it."

Sasuke took it with reluctance and the corners of Itachi's mouth turned up. His face returned to impassive, then he left the room.

Sasuke admitted it wasn't _bad, _it just wasn't particularly _good. _He chewed, enjoyed what he could, and soon his eyes slipped shut.

When re realized what he had done he tried, but just couldn't bring himself to force them back open. It was her fault.

..._Man, faded Shari'gans can really suck._

o o o o o

Sarutobi had not been in his office longer than an hour before Saesha appeared before him with a face full of urgency. His face followed imitated.

"Saru, we need privacy."

He nodded and offered a room. Inside, seals active, they remained standing.

"The Kyuubi is becoming too helpful."

This got the old man's eyebrows to raise. Too helpful? It raised a thousand questions.

"I think it has been running its chakra through the boys ears nearly since he was blinded. It's similar to the way the Inuzuka have been doing for their noses, except demon chakra is none-too-friendly in high potencies."

"I see how that can be bad..." The Hokage commented with full attentiveness.

"Then it seems the Kyuubi wanted to take it up a higher level. When I was teaching Naruto abstract things and word definitions and logic it seems the Kyuubi poured chakra onto the part of Naruto's brain that handles committing things to memory, until it started burning the region..."

Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder why she smelt of burnt hair.

"That part was bad, but when I couldn't suppress the chakra that was in the area, it fought back."

That was bad!

"It was pushing huge amounts of chakra into the area in order to overload my husband's suppression seals. It worked the first time. When I tried a second and was failing, I literally shouted to the Kyuubi to stop, and it did."

That was very bad. Sarutobi took it all in stride, however. He and the Fourth had considered this possibility.

"There is a chance that the Kyuubi does see or hear some of what is going on. But there is the possibility that his perceptions are limited in vagueness until Naruto slips towards unconsciousness or begins acting on instinct."

"I hope that's the case, but I thought you should know, and I didn't want any of the boys enemies to know about the Kyuubi's attempts to help. That would not be good for his case."

The Third nodded with full hearted agreement.

"Would you come check up on him when I send that he is awake?"

"Most definitely. Hiashi was planning on seeing the boy four days from now, should I suspend it?"

"I don't know, we will have to wait and see when its closer. Otherwise, keep everyone off training area 69. Naruto needs a lot of things right now, and people invading us is not one of them."

Sarutobi nodded again.

"I need to get back. He was stable when I left him – Kami, he's always stable – but I want to keep an eye on him. Thank you Saru." And with no further ceremony she exited the room and poofed in proper ninja fashion.

o o o o o

It had been twenty hours since Hyuuga Mozaku had slept, which should not normally be an issue with ninja but he had always had had problems whenever his regular sleep cycle was interrupted. He had been sent back to the Hyuuga compound by Seasha several hours ago but Hiashi had not yet risen from his sleep. It would be bad form for him to sleep before reporting.

Besides, he probably would forget some of the details in his sleep. He had a tendency to do that... Which is why he would never want to test for jonin. He had two many mental quirks to be reliable enough for that title. Strange then, that Neji-san would like him so much, the boy was bound to be an excelling ninja. Mozaku only hoped it would last.

It was also important that he do this task right because he only needed a failure or two more to prove to Hiashi-sama his incompetence – something the leader had become less and less tolerating of both since his wife died and since the Hyuuga clan had become the dominant clan of Konoha.

And that was why he slouched there waiting and pinching himself as much for entertainment as to keep awake. Fortunately for his sanity Hiashi arrived not much later.

"What do you have to report?"

Mozaku jumped up and bowed. Odd, how Hiashi asked the question before the bow. He had always demanded the sign of respect before in the past.

"Saesha-sama sent me away this morning before the boy awoke, however..." He launched into the details.

In the room just beyond Hinata resisted the urge to place her ear against the wall. Her father had no qualms about using the Byakugon if he had a suspicion. It would look very bad for her to be spying on him. It was not fitting behavior for the heir of a proud clan to be sneaking around, nothing but "walking tall" would do. The boy was below her... or something like that would be what the council of elders would say.

In any case, it took all her will. She stood, pressing her index fingers together, straining her hearing in the chance that she would yet catch a phrase.

A few moments later the door slid open and she watched Mozaku walk out, trying his hardest to be graceful, mumbling, "Yeah, the bed sounds really good." In that moment Hinata felt a bit of a connection with the man.

She walked through a second later. She was startled with a squeek at the appearance of her father's Byakugon actively tracking her. She tried to mumble something, an explanation, an apology. None of it came out.

"You did not sleep well." It was a statement.

Hinata shook her head.

"Sit," He indicated a place with a gentle hand while deactivating his bloodlimit.

She quickly took steps over and sat. She was promptly brought breakfast, but did not touch her food. She was trying to work up the nerve, but how would her father react? She didn't want to fail him by asking, she didn't want to disappoint him.

But she had to ask. That boy had been so different than what she knew of the world. Hw stood out like a patch of sun soaked grass in a black and white painting.

"A-a... ano" She felt shame wash over her for the stutter.

"Naruto is in good hands, he has made it and will be cared for," Hiashi said simply. What Hinata did next surprised him. She looked him in the eyes and gave a big smile. It was strange for the man to see her daughter look him in the eyes, and it was strange to see a smile that looked like it belonged to Naruto being made with her features. As soon as he saw it had appeared his little girl looked down again and hid her face with her bangs.

It was quiet for a a while longer. Hiashi could tell something was still working inside her head, trying to get out.

She tried to look back up at him, to look him in the eyes again, but she couldn't quite make it a a second time. Still she pointed to her eyes, cringed in fear of the response, and asked what she had been dreading.

"His eyes, are they...?"

"He has lost them along with his vision."

Her cringe strengthen and she put her hand over her mouth and returned hiding behind her bangs.

"Oh," She finally said.

They spent the remainder of the meal with Hiashi eating and considering and Hinata looking down and steeping in sadness, her food untouched. It looked like she wasn't going to be able to stomach lunch either.

When Hiashi had finished he simply said, "Hinata, it is time for training."

She looked at him with surprise; this was not when she would normally train, it was when she would study. She said nothing and followed him to the grounds, trying not to think of it as a poor turn of events.

o o o o o

Saesha stood in the study, looking through records. _Hippocampus_, it had to do more, she just couldn't remember all the details. She removed medical scroll "H" from the shelf and unrolled the long matrix of scroll storing seals. She unsealed a few and check them, then cursed. They were organized "H" topics and not by "H" body part. She stoed them all away and continued her search. In a quarter of an hour she found what she was looking for.

The information was thin. It apparently could have some function in smell, and very likely had function in spatial awareness, but it most definitely was involvement in short term to long term memory acquisition. Those all applied to what Naruto was trying to do to recover.

So the Kyuubi _was_ trying to aid its container in recovering from the loss of sight. It must truly fear Naruto's death, and was ignorant of how his chakra would effect the boy. Otherwise, it probably would not have set his brain to "scramble". Was the Kyuubi prone to being over enthusiastic? She did not think the other Bijuu she had encountered were ignorant.

From what Saesha could tell, in order for the demon to have any noticeable effect its chakra would have to overpower all of Naruto's own in the region and then some. Yeah, that was dangerous. SO maybe he was a bit over enthusiastic. Could that be turned from its brain scrambling tendencies to something good? She would need to talk to Shiki.

If she couldn't learn more on the hippocampus then she was going to need to review her list of mental disorders, seeing as it was very likely the boy will have picked up a few after this.

o o o o o

Evening set in and the grasshoppers began their orchestrations amongst the flowers. Konoha could look forward to waking up without the hangovers they had acquired from the previous nights celebration and mourning. The sky was near cloudless and the stars displayed their glory. Wind touched the fields in training area 69 as the air cooled and a shout traveled from the guest room.

"I am _so_ _**bored**_!"

.

.

.

**Author's Notes**:

**Be warned**, when this fic reaches around 30,000 words I plan on revising it. Don't worry, Naruto will get clean clothes from town by then.

But this story will end up a very different cookie indeed (from the original, that is). When the the revision is complete, I will change the title to something like "Faded Sharingan ; Naruto of the Wind and the Darkness" or "Broken eyes: Naruto of the Wind".

You got to see a hint of the faded Sharingan, and no, it's not more powerful, but rather less. And if Sasuke's Sharingan is less powerful then Orochimaru...

Ha ha ha! Let that one stew in your mind for a while.

I have some awesome stuff planned and I need a beta. If you are curious about being it, feel free to ask me about stuff.

Psalm Of Fire


	6. Food

Chapter 6

Evening set in and the grasshoppers began their orchestrations amongst the flowers. Konoha could look forward to waking up without the hangovers they had acquired from the previous nights celebration and mourning. The sky was near cloudless and the stars displayed their glory. Wind touched the fields in training area 69 as the air cooled and a shout traveled from the guest room.

"I am _so_ _**bored**_!"

Saesha was busy with dinner, fixing extra in the hope that Naruto would wake despite her serious doubts. However, that shout made all her hopes fulfilled.

She plopped her spatula back in the pot, spraying bits of it on the wall, and ran down the hallway to were Naruto was, acting very much like the fifteen year old she appeared. She flew through the door and found Naruto on his bed "staring" at the ceiling.

"Naruto, your awake!" Saesha had to hold back an impulse to hug him

"Only for about five hours!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I doubt that, you would have gotten up before then."

"Okay, so I just woke up. But sleep can be really boring, so I woke up bored," He said, swinging his legs into a sitting position. Saesha giggled. To this, it seemed almost as if he squinted at her under his mask.

"You are way to young to be married."

She was a little taken aback. Where had that come from? It also had the potential to be awkward. What was that saying... the best defense is a good offense. Yeah, that would do.

"Why you so interested? Jealous?"

Saesha had expected a dropped jaw, maybe sputtering excuses, maybe blushing.

When he first heard it, he looked confused. Then he shook his head and said, "No, I just think its weird. Why would I be?"

She scowled at him, which of course he completely missed.

"All right lippy, you need to eat dinner. Lets-"

"Ramen!"

"No."

"What? You said we could have Ichiruka ramen..."

"You remember perfectly well that I said if we made a lot of progress today."

"Eh? No, I really don't. Whenever I talk about ramen all the stuff around it just sort of blacks out."

Saesha smacked her forehead.

_That was weird, why would she hit herself?_

Mustering her patience Saesha continued.

"Okay, I said we had to accomplish a lot if we were going into the village. One incomplete conversation hardly counts. Can you stand?"

Naruto hopped up for an answer. It did disorient him a bit, and he teetered, howoever he recovered before Saesha could support him.

"What happened? I was knocked out or something. Did you hit me in the back of the head after we went down those stairs?" He accused and then considered for a second. His eyes widened in horror. "Did you put something in my food?"

She breathed out through a tight mouth.

"I did nothing to you food and I didn't hit you," She said, forcefully taking him by the hand and guiding him down the hall into the living room.

"So what happened then?"

"We are not talking about this."

"If it wasn't you, and I don't think it was me... maybe someone hear dI was going to be a super badass ninja and so they tried to stop me before I could kick their butt!"

"Yeah... That might be it." _Let the boy think that. He can't possibly actually believe that, and maybe it will get him off the trail_.

"All right, I need to train hard if they are already after me. I have to kick there butts when they decided to show themselves. So what are we training first?"

"Were eating, remember Naruto?"

"Oh yeah! I'm starved!"

"You have been for a long time," Saesha mumbled, thinking of his poor bones.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "What did you say?"

She just ignored him and finished guiding him to their table in the kitchen.

"Wow, that smells good!"

"Thank you," Saesha said with a full smile. "Stick out your tongue."

"What? Not that again." It wasn't a pout, it was a whine. Big difference. At least to Saesha.

"Knock it off boy," She said with over strictness in her voice.

Naruto replied by sticking out his tongue and making a face that said he would rather be anywhere but here. Saesha tapped it with her index (the other one, the one she used last time had been charred off at the tip) and returned to cooking.

After ten minutes of waiting impatiently, Naruto copied himself:

"I am _so_ _**bored**_! How long are you going to make me sniff this stuff and not eat?"

It sounded a lot louder when he shouted right behind you. But, at least he was pouting this time instead of whining. Much better.

"I am working it to perfection, you must not complain," She said dutifully as she dropped five complete buds worth of pealed garlic into the pot. Of course, Naruto didn't smell this.

The food was served and Naruto dug in. Saesha wanted the strength to keep her genjutsu up for Kami knows how many bowls the child would go through. So, she applied a weak genjutsu to her self and ate with him this time.

Fortunately this time was a lot easier for her. Naruto had no reservations about the food and was eating hit so fast it barely touched his tongue. He even accelerated after the first bowl.

Five bowls would be his stopping point today, which was a good thing because she hadn't made but six and a half bowls worth, she realized as she finished hers.

"So, now are we going to train?"

"Naruto, I am so tired. How about I put you under a sleeping jutsu and we will train in the morning."

"But sleeping is so boring tha... t I... don't..."

Saesha signed a sigh of relief. He probably did still need sleep to heal his brain, so she wasn't just manipulating him for her convenience. Still, she got quite a satisfied shark like smile as she moved him back to his bed.

_I can understand why some of the villagers don't like him if they can't use genjutsu,_ She mused.

Tucked away, she went through all the hand seals throughly (making up for the imbalance of a lost fingertip) and pushed a massive amount of her chakra into the second sleeping jutsu.

_That should lock him away till I release him tomorrow. Then _she sighed, even more drained, and returned happily to her bed.

o o o o o

Kiba prowled behind his mother as they walked home. He carried a half smirk and his eyes would dart from side to side at intervals. Then he would sniff the air. Awareness training was _fun_.

The sun had set a few hours ago and while they were in town having a family night out. He and his mother and sister had gone to eat barbecue and discuss "one of the biggest moments of your young lives", as his mother had said. It was finally time. His mother was being given enough time away from missions (at her request) to allow Kuromaru to have a litter. That would mean Kiba could finally have a partner!

He was thrilled, but not half as thrilled as his sister. She should have had her own dog for over two years! Tsume had even taken her out of the academy for last year because she still hadn't had a partner. This was also to try and pressure the powers-that-be enough to give her the time off required. The Inuzuka dogs require twice as long as normal dogs: four months. That meant mom needed to give Kuromaru three months off, to be safe, and she wanted to spend all that time at home "making up" for the time the investigation took from the family. Kiba hoped she meant training...

"Ah ha! Got you!" Kenshi flew out of the nearby bushes in a full-on tackling dive. He rolled his shoulder just out of the way of her trajectory. She managed to tuck her dive into a roll as she hit the grass on the other side of the path. Kiba crouched at the ready as he turned and faced her. Tsume smiled, looking on.

"Ha ha ha, hey sis, are you trying to do a beast mimicry? That has got to be the worst one I've ever seen! You fingernails aren't even half way to claws," he mocked.

"You don't even know the handseals for the jutsu, you shouldn't talk," she growled back, looking more feral than her brother.

"Come on and get some, little puppy," Kiba continued to taunt.

"Are you going to take that?" Tsume asked innocently.

Kenshi looked at her mother, and then grinned back at her brother. She lunged again, semi-claws extended ahead of her dive.

Kiba rolled the targeted shoulder back, twisting out of her path again, but she had predicted that and widened the swipe of the approaching arm. In the slow motion his eyes widened and he turned his head to try and avoid the oncoming nails. She still caught his face with three fingers and rolled into her landing several feet away.

He put his hand up to the point of contact. The marks drew no blood, but they burned their course on his face. He was suddenly grateful for his sisters failed mimicry. However, he didn't have time to ponder for the need to dodge her next attack.

This time Kiba didn't leave her trajectory, he put his flying fist in her path. She managed to twisted enough to render the attack a glancing blow instead of a nose reshaper. Still, she wasn't able to catch her fall and she landed on her side, which hurt more than the fist from her eight year old brother. He pounced – only to be caught by his mother mid-air. Tsume held him suspended by a fist full of jacket.

"Kiba, you were supposed to dodge."

"Come on! When do _I _get to tackle _her_?"

"Kiba, dodge." 'Sit' could have replaced 'dodge' and it would sound just like a villager talking to their normal dogs, which of course was an insult.

He was put down after a growled "alright".

"One more time Kenshi." Tsume had barely said it before she jumped away from her daughter's charge.

This time Kiba dodged to the opposite side expected and just as she was passing him he reached out and grabbed he coat under the arm. With a jerk he redirect her momentum into the dirt behind him. A dust cloud rose up from the road she had smacked into as he turned around, feeling throughly badass.

"Hey, thats not fair!"

Hesmiled, revealing the full length of his fangs, the natural Inuzuka trait.

Tsume shrugged. "It was mostly a dodge. It was a ninja tactic. I don't know what you're complaining about Kenshi, you used the same attack four times. I don't know what you expected him to do."

The humiliation was making her clench her fist as she rose, coughing up dust. She wiped her mouth on the back of her dark jacket covered arm.

"Ha ha, consider that a lesson, no charge," Kiba said and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I'll snap your nose runt!"

He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant while inside celebrating. He just took her down! Oh yeah!

"He's right. Consider it a lesson." His mother's words made him smirk even more, but then she turned on him. "That was still a failure. You let her get way to close to you while you had your head up your-"

"Hey, I was thinking on what my dog will be like! That's a good reason!"

"Not really."

"Shut up sis."

"She's right."

"Ah man." ...More awareness training wouldn't be that bad... "Fine. Whatever."

"Not tonight. We need to go over the pedigrees and see the options Kuromaru has."

Kenshi lit up as her beast mimicry faded. She clapped her hands together and said excitedly, "Oh yeah, wouldn't she be cute with Ottemaru!"

Kuromaru had been watching the fight with her tail wagging, and when she heard the name she renewed her enthusiasm for the action.

Tsume considered.

"Cute, maybe, but they both struggle with endurance."

Kuromaru moaned her dislike.

Tsume looked down at her companion. "Yes, you will get a say in things to." Contented, the dog went back to a happy pant.

Kiba tried to ignore there excited matchmaking conversation as they made their way home. He was just ready to have one of his own, he along with several other Inuzuka academy students from the other families. They had all been waiting on Kuromaru's puppies for too long; the breeding program demanded no other, otherwise there would be too much potential for inbreeding a few generations down the road. So yeah, Kiba was very excited. Just, about the puppy... not the matchmaking.

o o o o o

"Wake up!" Naruto shouted, pounding on the bedroom door. It had taken him some time to realize that he was previously pounding on a closet door, but he soon corrected the error and returned to making a thorough ruckus.

Saesha rolled in her bed, sheets all a twisted mess.

"Wake up Saesha-chan!"

She had been ignoring him for fifteen minutes. The first ten had been easier, but since he decided to pound on _her _door it was becoming more difficult.

Naruto had been pushed to the limit of his patience, and then some – which was about five minutes. He stopped for a moment to think, since what he was doing was obviously not working.

Saesha thanked the gods and prayed he had actually given up. Then another extra enthusiastic pound made her cringe.

"Oi! There is a poor starving blind child out here and you're just going to leave him all alone?"

"UuuaaaAHHH!" She finally broke.

Naruto giggled and tucked his arms in a celebratory "yes!"

Saesha snapped up to a sitting position and looked out the window. It. Wasn't. Even. Dawn.

"UUAAAHHHH!"

_Okay, that was a bit scary,_ Naruto thought as he took a step back.

She could kill him, that's what she would do. No, that was to fast! She could run a rope between his legs and use jutsu to jerk it back and forth while she held him in place. Yeah, that would be good. That might give him and idea of what he was putting her through.

...But wait, that might be to permanent. So what about... Unless...

Perfect. So very perfect.

"Good morning Naruto!" She yelled in an overwhelmingly cheeryvoice.

"Eh heh, good morning?" Naruto was a bit unsure, but she sounded nice enough.

Some shuffling noises later and she came out and ruffled his hair. He smiled up at her, full and innocent.

_Oh, that is going to make this so much more satisfying..._Saesha thought.

"So what are you doing up so early, its about 5:00 a.m." Saesha sounded so innocent herself.

"I'm ready for training! Beside, I can't quite remember, but I think you forced me asleep yesterday, so you owe me..."

Saesha put a hand on her chest. "I would never do that! You must have had some strange dreams."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I should train."

"But you said you were starving, right?"

"Yeah! I could eat anything!"

"Really? Okay, but I think I will just make the usual." Naruto could not see the evil grin.

"That sounds good! You're a pretty good cook, ya' know that."

_Was he trying to make this more fun for me?_ Saesha thought as she guided him to the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later and Naruto was drooling and sniffing what he thought was the smell of her cooking.

"Alright, serve some of that up," He shouted.

"Sure," It was said too sweetly.

Seasha placed the bowl in front of him.

"Eh, do I need to stick my tongue out?"

Saesha was pleasantly surprised by the fact that hw thought while the food sat there "tempting" him.

"No, don't worry about it this time."

He nodded and with an "itadakimasu" he picked up the bowl. For Saesha, it felt like time slowed. Every inch closer he came to pouring it down his throat her smile spread an inch wider, to very unnatural proportions.

As soon as the substance hit his tongue she released the olfactory genjutsu; the smell and the taste hit him at the same time. His reaction was a violent convulsion, spewing and dropping the bowl in his lap. Remember how much garlic the recipe called for? Naruto couldn't even taste it.

He trembled while Saesha casually tapped her tongue and began eating. Naruto was frozen, unable to act or move, the overwhelming nasty drowning out even his minds ability to command his muscles. After the stuff had been off his tongue for long enough and his body regained that ability he promptly threw up all the stomach acid he had accumulated during the night. For Seasha, she could not even smell the vomit. She had her olfactory and taste genjutsus on high chakra. It all was so delicious.

It took six minutes before he could stop his dry heaving and speak.

"Wha- wha... What was that?"

"What you've been eating these last few meals."

"No, no way. I think my tongue might have all its skin melted off or somethings. No way."

"See what happens when you make my life hard." She finished the last of hers off and rinsed the bowl in the sink, and then ran warm water in a large bowl at added soap. She put a rag into it and handed it to the blind boy.

"Here is your training, it works on both location via smell and spacial awareness, as well as common sense. Clean it all up, especially the soup. When you are done, you can call me. If you have not cleaned every drop and smear, I will tie you to a chair and force feed you at least two bowls. Then, because you obviously would not have learned the point of the training, I will spill a third bowl on the floor and walls by swinging it around and you will be forced to clean that. Fail again, and it gets worse. Do not call me for at least another two hours, or the same will happen even if it's all clean. Am I clear?" She didn't wait for a response "Good."

"Bu- but how do I know if two hours have passed? I can't even read a clock."

"Tracking time in your head is also training, so train. Better err on the side of waiting too long. Good night, I am returning to bed."

With that she left. Naruto just tremored.

o o o o o

When Saesha stepped into the kitchen her eyes filled with delight. It was perfect, not a nasty drop remained. He had even cleaned the pot she had used to cook in... and gotten rid of the contents. Smart. She had felt a little guilt for it all when she woke up, but that quickly passed. The only problem was, he was nowhere around.

She performed a few handseals and released a detection jutsu tuned to him. He wasn't anywhere in 100 meters (300 ft). Now she felt a bit more guilt. Did he think she had abandoned him? That she had turned her back on him, or _rejected_ him?

Sprinting out the door she began recasting the jutsu at 50 meter intervals.

Where had he gone? Ichiraku? She wouldn't blame him after he had to taste her meal... But then again, he was blind, and she didn't imagine many villagers offering him a hand, or regaining his appetite so soon. ...Or was he going to go to the Hokage to tell him that he was stuck with a madwoman. Of course, Sarutobi already knew that. That was why he made sure that the Houraisans would not be the boy's only influence. And there was the fact that he was _blind_...

The jutsu returned positive, only having needing to use it five times. She ran his direction and slowed to a ninja stealth when she neared.

Naruto stood, punching a tree. Saesha thought the boy was mad, but when he got winded, he stopped and panted with a smile. Then he started kicking the tree. And then stopped and panted. Rinse and repeat.

"Hey Naruto!" Saesha greeted. The boy cringed.

"Wha-what? I-did-the-best-I-could-please-don't-make-me-try-again," all stumbled out of his mouth as he raised his palms in defense.

"Eh, no, you did great."

Naruto relaxed and smiled at her.

"Great! So what training are we doing now Saesha-chan?"

_He doesn't even hardly care. _Saesha was impressed.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Training. I figure a ninja needs to punch hard, and trees are hard,"

"Okay..."

"Oh hey, I forgot to call you..." Then he cringed again. "Has it been two hours?"

"It's been four."

Naruto re-relaxed. "Sweet! So what are we going to do now?"

"Bend your arm."

He did.

"How do you know your arm is bent."

"Because... it is."

"Well how? You can't see it, your not touching it with your other hand to figure it out. How?"

Naruto puzzled on this for a while before shouting, "You know, why don't you tell me?"

It was Saesha's turn to cringe. "Hey boy, not so loud. Its called **proprioception, **it's basically self awareness. It's an extra sense."

"Why not just call it self awareness?"

"Okay, we will. This sense lets you know where your body is. I just thought you should be aware of it. Considering you lost a sense, you need to know how to use the ones you still have."

"Okay..." He seemed to sink.

"No sulking, a badass ninja doesn't sulk," She snipped.

"Right! ...uh, do I have any more senses I don't know about?"

"Yep yep. **Vestibular** sense. It informs you of balance and acceleration." Saesha said, moving to place a hand on his shoulder. He reached up and grabbed her wrist and hung his arm from it as he thought.

"Okay, I know what balance is, but what is 'celeration?"

She snatched him up, catching his breath, and through him into the air and caught him. She set him back down. He giggled.

"You remember the feel as you went up, and stopped, and came down. Going faster is acceleration, but it has a counterpart called deceleration. That is when you slow down. The sense that tells you of those two, and balance, is called the **vestibular** sense."

He thought for a while and then gave a big nod.

"Okay, think on them and try to feel them, we're going to the village."

Naruto started to talk, but she cut him off. He tried again and muffled his mouth.

"Nope, feel and think, not talk."

She then picked him up and gave an epic ninja leap. Several later and they were out of training area 69 and lightly skipping across the rooftops of Konoha.

For Naruto, he would pay close attention to the feel of rising and falling, but that attention only lasted so long. He was more interested in the smells. They were a lot stronger than when he could see, but it weird that they were never uncomfortable. Saesha had explained how that happened, like when you close your eyes at night and can hear more. But then, he had never smelled this much better when he had his eyes closed... Must be because he hadn't seen in a long time (35 1/2 hours).

Food smells were in the distance, dust and people were the strongest. Here and there he caught a scent of flowers, probably from window boxes. But then, the flowers steadily grew stronger

Finally, Saesha jumped down to street level. Naruto took a deep breath, enjoying the mental pick-me-up the flowers offered.

"Where are we Naruto?" Saesha asked in her teacher mode.

"Wait, your lost? And you're asking a blind kid?" Naruto scoffed.

"No, I'm not lost I jus-" She was cut off by Naruto's giggles.

"I... know..." He said between laughs. "I could tell, because... he he he... you sound just like that mean orphanage person who came to teach us. She always talked... he he he... like that and pushed her lips together all weird like." He had finally recovered from his giggles. "Ahh," He sighed with a reminiscing tone, "I played some good pranks on her." He thought for a moment. "And then she would always push her lips together harder like she was trying to break them. She was weird."

Saesha decided to ignore all that. She went back to the conversational tone she had used with him previously. So much for "more expression" in her voice.

"So, where are we."

"The flower shop," Naruto said while taking another drag off the atmosphere.

"Your really enjoying this, aren't you."

"Yeah..." He said, sounding light headed. "So why are we here?"

"I have some flowers to give to the- Wait, do you know _which_ flower shop we're at?"

"_The _flower shop. At least, the only one worth remembering. Sometimes after the other kids were really mean to me I'd come here and look at the flowers from across the street. They looked so pretty and stuff..." His mood sunk considerably. She did not prod him out of it like last time, but let him sit in it for a moment.

"Okay, so you still haven't told me what shop it was."

"Yamanaka's, the _only _one worth remembering!"

"Okay, I get it. It's the only one worth remembering. We are here because I have some flowers to give them. Rare kinds Shiki and I collect on our travels, as well as ones we sealed this spring so they could offer them all year."

"Thats cool! No wonder it's the only one worth remembering..."

Naruto clung to her as they moved to the shops entrance. Saesha pulled the entrance bell. He listened to the squeak of the screen door as they stepped through.

Ino sat on the stool at the counter swinging her legs when they entered. With out looking up she launched into the standard greeting.

"Welcome to Yamanaka's flower shop how can we make your bouquet of dreams?" She marked her place in the magazine she was looking at. When she looked up and recognized who arrived she jumped from behind the counter and bowed.

"Welcome, Saesha-sama," The girls words were formal like her mother had always been when talking to the odd girl, but Ino was comfortable in tone.

"Good to see you, Ino-san," Saesha said with mock formality and messed the girls hair. This disgruntled her very much and she work to realign her strait blond locks.

"So what do you have today?" She asked once recovered from her disgruntled state, sounding like any other kid would in candy store

"Dewberry blooms, Eastern Red Bud, Ghost Flower..."

Ino jumped in excitement causing her hair to play across her shoulders.

"...Snowflake and Bluebell. Of course, we can keep any of them sealed if you want to do a blowout sometime."

Ino put a finger to her lips in thought. "...no, usually we will get better business because people come here to get something unique. Having a sail on lots of one kind of flower really doesn't help that."

"You know the business... So where is your mother?"

"She is in the back having an early lunch," She eyed Naruto, and then his bandages.

"Naruto, do you remember Ino?"

"Yeah, I remember her. She has shoulder long hair and its like mine, but really shiny. Green eyes... really cute..." He sounded like he was listing off grocery items.

Ino blushed and looked down.

"It seems you remember her right, that's the girl standing in front of me"

She blushed deeper.

"So Ino, what's your favorite flower of the ones I brought?"

"Definitely Ghost Flower, I love all the little dots that show up on the inside. ...May I ask..." She pointed at Naruto's bandages.

"Maybe. Naruto, do you feel like telling anyone about it?"

Naruto clung closer to Saesha and shook his head.

"Well then, Ino, not right now."

The girl still looked intensely curious.

"Would you go get your mother?"

With reluctance she nodded and headed to the back into the Yamanaka home. Then there was some shouting and the sound of a plate being knocked to the floor. After the sounds died down Ino peaked out around the door and opened it slowly. She had her her eyes on her toes and arms behind her back in a bashful manner.

"Mommy says that you can stay, Saesha-sama, but Uzumaki has to stay outside. She won't come out otherwise." She really did look shameful.

"It's not your fault dear... Naruto, stay here. Yes, inside the flower shop. Ino, would you excuse me?" Saeshasaid as she detached Naruto from her side and walked toward the doorway. Ino's eyes grew big as she squished herself against the wall to make room. When Saesha passed her it was almost like a storm.

Naruto remained where he was, a bit lost in his world of darkness. Ino bit her lip to stop her curiosity's desire to ask about the bandages.

Straining his hearing Naruto could only hear one loud voice arguing, the other was too calm or too quiet to pick up on. Naruto began shifting his weight from one leg to the other as he waited.

Just about when Ino was going to give in to her curiosity Saesha returned.

She turned to Ino and hugged the girl saying, "There are many good qualities your mother has, but she also can be both ignorant and prideful. Those are two things you would do well not to imitate, Ino dear." She walked over to Naruto and gave him her hand. "I am sorry Ino, but this shop no longer has our business, which means I will be seeing you less. I hope you do well," Saesha waved as she exited the store in a suppressed hurry. She lifted Naruto under one arm and again began jumping across the roofs.

"Saesha-chan, what was that all about?" Naruto asked after forever (45 seconds).

"Ino's mother thought kicking you out of the store was more valuable than all the services I offer her."

Naruto thought she definitely sounded more angry than she was this morning. It was weird, having someone mad for him instead of the normal way around.

"Don't worry about it, that stuff happens all the time..."

"I will worry about whatever I want to." Saesha replied sharply, leaving no room for discussion – not that Naruto wanted any, he was feeling a bit nauseous from the intensity of the jumps.

Saesha took a little extra time finding the part of the district she was aiming for. She needed to cool off, having that ignorant fool yell at her in her face, acting like she knew so much more than the woman who was several centuries older she was yelling at, it all got blood to boil. She had been rubbed the wrong way enough today, if someone did that to her again... Maybe homicide.

She had an idea.

Stopping on the next rooftop she placed Naruto down. Then she performed a henge, turning her self into a rather rough, unshaven man in dark robes. With red eyes (a nice little addition she had seen Kurenai use to her advantage). Another jutsu later and she had a voice to match.

"I have changed my appearance, Naruto, so I can bully people around a little better. Civilians don't really respect a fifteen year old girl from a clan they have never heard of."

"Whoa! You sound like Itachi! You really have to teach me that some time."

She wrapped her arm back around him and jumped to street level, took a deep breath, focused on the air passing through her lips, and then walked to the first store...

Three stores later she was clenching her fist. She had managed to let the first two live and not even say anything, hoping to find more luck else. The old man in the third had gotten a tiny piece of her mind, but he was still too stubborn. No reason to give him any business. On top of all that Naruto was cowering and sinking do to all the slander that had been thrown at him in the last twenty minutes. So now it was onto the fourth.

"Can we go eat. I didn't get breakfast and I don't really want to be here and stuff..."

"No Naruto, you shirt is full of slashes. You need to get it replaced."

He followed her reluctantly, clinging. He never had trouble running into people, they all stayed well out of his way.

This next and last, _it was going to be the last, _place looked a bit run down, so maybe they were desperate enough for business that there would be less resistance. They stepped in and Naruto smelled the mingling of used cloths and washing detergent in the air.

A middle-aged woman with plenty of scowl lines walk over to see who had stepped in. She immediately started to protest. As soon as Saesha saw the expressions on her face she reached out and grabbed that face with her left hand and pulled it an inch from her own.

"Are you going to deny me your service?" Cue the red eyes glowing subtly.

The woman sputter.

"You see, I'm in a bad mood. Some might say... a murderous mood." Cue Saesha swinging a kunai by the loop in the handle. "I have this problem I think you can help me with." Her breath from the force of the words blew across the other girl's face making her eyes squint. "The problem is, every store throws me out for some strange reason. Would you know what that is."

The woman turned her head down to Naruto. Saesha jerked it back and began swinging the kunai faster.

"Would you know what that reason is?" She asked with massive intensity.

The woman hesitantly shook her head.

"Ahh, good, someone I can understand. I thought those others were being _unreasonable_. But you are _reasonable_. You are going to offer us your services, and we will politely look through you shop, and we will buy, and you will say thank you, and come again, and all the pleasantries, and then we will leave you with _all_ your various parts _attached_."

Saesha more threw the womans head back than releasing it.

Naruto kept his head down shyly.

o o o o o

"Fine, we are leaving. Two shirts and one pare of pants is all you get, I am not buying you any more for a whole week." Saesha said after Naruto complained of the selection process yet again, and complained that he was hungry yet again.

His eyes widened. "You're buying these for me?"

"Of course," Saesha scoffed.

"That is so cool! Your the best! Can we eat now?"

"Are you happy with you cloths."

"...eh, they feel good. Are they orange?"

"No they are not orange!"

"Ah man, what color are they?"

"Your shots are a grey camo pattern and you shirt is black. You do remember black?"

"Yes, of course I can remember black, thats all I can see right now!"

"Uhh... right. It looks really good on you, especially with your blond hair. Much better than orange."

"No way, nothing is better than orange."

"Awesome ninjas don't wear orange."

"Nuh uh! Only the most awesome ninjas wear orange."

"Whatever, Naruto. Didn't you say you wanted to eat," Saesha decided on changing the subject.

"Yeah! Ramen! Are we going?"

"Yes, we are going," She said as she thanked the lady and gave her a big smile. They stepped outside.

"To Ichiruka?

"Yes yes, to the ramen stand."

Naruto "woo hoo"ed and stood next to her expectantly, ready for her to pick him up.

"I don't know where it is."

"What?"

"Hmm, it seems we can't go there. We might have to..."

The poor boy's face looked like it had seen its puppy die and its candy taken away, and maybe a third tragedy as well.

"I know where the ramen stand is, let's go." She said as she picked him up. His face looked as though he was recovering from a heart attack.

As she again jumped across the rooftops of Konoha she released her henge. Up when a scary man, a poof of smoke at the top of the trajectory, and out flew a young girl.

Naruto was just trying not to get nauseous from the ride.

Soon they landed in the street and people formed that large empty circle around the boy they seemed to always do. It had actually earned the kid a few beatings in the past because some bullies thought that happened because he was tough and they didn't believe it.

They walked a bit before Naruto spoke.

"Hey you didn't tell me you were changing your voice again."

"What?"

Naruto's head snapped up to look at the voice.

"Uh, I guess Itachi is nearby. I wondered why it sounded so quiet. What's a Sasuke?"

Saesha then remembered. "Oh, Sasuke, he probably had a really bad morning yesterday..." She looked down at his confused, bandaged face. "He is Itachi's little brother."

"I wonder if he is cool to."

"I need to make it up to the boy, lets go invite them to lunch."

Naruto seemed excited by the prospect.

"Which way are they."

Naruto pointed in reply and then they made there way over and found the two arguing.

"Itachi, I'm hungry now." Sasuke said, his eyes closed.

"I am to. We can eat when we get home. Pocky?"

"No pocky. How am I supposed to become a ninja eating pocky?"

"I'm cool." Itachi said, absentmindedly fingering the pocky holster.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, still keeping his eyes closed. "Yeah yeah, you said that like five times already. Lets eat, then you would be more cool. Its already past 1:00..."

"Oi! Itachi! You wanna come eat some ramen?" Naruto shouted to them.

Itachi looked Naruto's direction as his Sharingan flashed on. Saesha stiffened and moved closer to the boy. As soon as Itachi saw Naruto the Sharingan shut off. Sasuke then opened his eyes and looked at the other boy.

"Sure. Where?"

Sasuke tried not to look up at his brother in disbelief. He wasn't very successful

"Ichiraku, with Teuchi and Ayame."

"Hey Sasuke-kun, let me make it up to you for yesterday. I'll buy your meal." Saesha offered as sweetly as she dared. She didn't want the boy to get a crush on her, after all...

"Itachi, if we are going to eat, let's get something beside ramen. You can't be a strong ninja and eat ramen!"

Naruto froze, shock and disbelief evident behind his bandages. He was filling his impressive lung capacity for a reply when Saesha nudged him. He "looked" up at her, and then back to Sasuke's direction.

"Shows what you know about ramen, or being a ninja."

Saesha smile and whispered while covering her mouth, "Much better." Naruto grinned up at her.

Sasuke was out voted and they all headed to the Ichiraku ramen bar.

Because it was past lunch only one seat was taken, which was a good thing since the bar only had five. The other man was hunched over his ramen bowl and wore the chuunin vest. Seasha recognized the man and guided Naruto to be the one sitting next to him, then her, then Sasuke and then Itachi. Much to Itachi's disappointment there was no pocky flavored ramen... if that makes any sense, since pocky itself is flavored after other things.

"Iruka-kun, its good to see you."

Iruka cringed, and then slowly turned to see her face.

"Ah, don't worry, I'm not going to embarrass you."

"How can I know that, you practically ruined a marriage."

"You're not that desperate, that girl was hardly marriage quality."

Iruka groaned his response, then took stock of the other characters.

_On the far side is Itachi, that boy who I had barely had time to greet before he was already graduated. And then there is his little brother, poor child has a Faded... and _her_, and the... is that the demon boy? He looks like he's been blinded! When did that happen?_

"Hey Naruto!" Teuchi greeted, turning around from his broth. "I see you brought friends, care to introduce?"

"Eh, sure. This is Saesha-chan," He said grabbing the shirt on her shoulder. "Then there is Itachi. He's cool. And Sasuke, who might be cool, but he might be dumb. He thinks ninjas shouldn't eat ramen."

Sasuke growled. It didn't have the same effect Itachi would, which lowered Naruto' opinion of him a bit more.

"Good to meet you all. Sasuke, I hope to change your mind! So, what will it be?"

"Miso! Then beef, and then miso. That's it for now"

Teushi laughed. "I'll get started, Ayame, would to take the rest."

"Mmhmm," She said and then removed the pen for her mouth. She took there orders and then Sasuke spoke up.

"So, Saesha-_chan_, what happened yesterday?"

"That was a bit... daring," Itachi said.

Seasha turned her neck very slowly to face the mouthy Uchiha. Her smile was full of teeth.

_Kami this has been a day in hell. I cannot kill this kid, I cannot kill this kid,_ She chanted in her mind.

"Did your eyes hurt you, Sasuke?" She said, trying to sound sympathetic between her clenched teeth.

"Yeah! I had even activated the second tomoe I have in my right eye! Four hours straight of keeping eyes open even without the second tomoes really hurts!"

_Funny how he never talked to me like this when his mother was around. _"Really. I bet that _did_ hurt."

Ayame's female intuition told her to watch. It was at least going to be interesting.

"Yeah, even my head was burning a bit."

"Oh. Well," Her jaw clenched tighter, "Naruto had just had his _normal_ eyes stabbed out. Want to trade places with him, then I could have seen to you yesterday instead."

Iruka's jaw dropped.

Ayame's face washed over with concern.

Itachi didn't seem to notice.

Teuchi stopped mid stir.

Naruto cringed and tried do hide his face.

Sasuke felt a flair of her killing intent. It was enough to stop his heart the way a sneeze does, only for longer. Had he had normal eyes he probably would have seen spots in them. An instant later the killing intent was gone, much to his relief.

"i.. is that what happened?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto mumble 'hai' from where he was hunkered.

The young Uchiha gulped. "Oh," was all he could manage.

The mood remained solum (except Itachi, who still acted unnoticing) until the food was brought out. Naruto's head popped back up with a big grin.

"Ramen, I have been dreaming of you. I had to eat sewage this morning, its been so long..."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

He leaned back and asked Seash, "Does he always talk to his food."

"That's the first time I've seen him do it."

The answer was hard to hear for the blond boys slurps and happy grunts. An " itadakimasu" later and every one was enjoying the ramen and the lifted mood. Sasuke was still feeling a bit light headed, so he took it slow.

After the meal was shared Saesha spoke.

"Sasuke, we still need to do your check up. The seals we have designed this time might be the ones that let you suppress your Sharingan properly. Itachi, can someone bring him to my place tomorrow?"

Itachi's head snapped around, Sharingan active. Immediately Saesha looked aside, allowing anger to pull her face. The Sharingan was gone a moment later.

"Yes."

"Good, I hope to see you then. If you two would, I need to talk to these people about the status of the information regarding Naruto's eyes. Please do the same for Sasuke."

Itachi stared, and without moving he said, "Naruto's condition is classified, little brother, and you are not at a rank to reveal it to anyone. The Hokage has not decided the punishment yet, but considering his decisions in the past, revealing the information may give you the death penalty."

Sasuke's eyes grew huge and he gulped. Naruto just seemed confused. The two had not gotten the reference to the law on revealing the Kyuubi, but every one else did. And it was probably true.

With that, Itachi payed for himself, stood, and left. Sasuke remembered that the intimidating doctor lady was paying for him so he jumped of his stool and followed. He did not close his eyes the whole way home like he normally would have. He kept them open and kept looking back the way they came, thinking on just who, what, and why.

"I told you, don't complain," Itachi said simply as he left down the hall to his room.

When they were gone Saesha turned back to Teuchi and Ayame. "He is right, though I would have put it differently. You cannot talk about it, not yet." She then turned to the scarred chuunin. "Iruka, you and I need to have a discussion later. It may even be a few months from now, but I want you to be thinking about it and just how you are going to respond. Keep and open heart." She placed the money for the two bowls Sasuke had eaten, the single she had eaten, and the six Naruto had performed his vanishing act on.

_That was cryptic_, Iruka thought.

"Naruto, we need to go home and train!" She said, mustering enthusiasm.

"Alright!"

Iruka raised a curious brow.

With that Saesha picked the boy up and jumped to the nearest rooftop where Naruto promptly squirmed out from her arms.

"What are you doing," She was trying not to loose her over stretched patience

"Uh, that kind of makes me want to throw up. After this morning, I would like to keep my food in."

"Right."

So they walked across the rooftops of Konoha, taking much more time, Saesha thought.

_I've got to get this boy so he can jump for himself. Shiki, you better be a lifetime's worth of clever when you try and help this boy get his independence back. He needs it. I don't know what depends on it, it may only be his hope and sanity, but it could be much more. He needs it._

.

.

.

**Author's Notes:**

Hey, so there it is. Kiba's canon older sister is Hana, but do to circumstances because of the Divergence Point Tsume did not have the opportunity to bear a child at the same time she did in canon.

8000! Bo-Yah!

Psalm of Fire

P.S. You know you want to review, you really do. Or ask about beta-ing. Or share this with you beta friends and suggest they ask about beta-ing so I don't suffer from writer burn out some time down the road... or something. And you can get a free tire rotation!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or Daneel's work or characters. Many props to him. Thanks again for the inspiration to take my first dive into fan fiction.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Naruto was doing "training", which so far had consisted of house chores. That was the same "training" he had done yesterday when he came back from town. Yesterday complaining had not hardly crossed his mind. She stood up many times for him that day and he understood the reasoning for making him do chores.

Today, however, those same reasons were wearing thin for Naruto. Sure, in theory knowing how to navigate the house and work blinded was really important, but how was doing laundry going to make him badass? But at least he could take a break when Itachi's little brother showed up, and maybe Itachi himself!.

Naruto giggled as he pulled out another clothing item from the dryer.

Even though he didn't like people knowing he was assaulted and lost his eyes he still thought it was hilarious looking back how Saesha-chan had torn into the younger Uchiha.

What was he thinking about before? Oh yeah, laundry sucked.

_Ah man, I don't want to be thinking on that. Why did I have to come back to-_ He smacked his head on the half open door.

Okay, so there was no way he was going to become an awesome ninja if he couldn't do laundry. But still...

Naruto's ears informed him of someone entering the house.

_Are they already here, weren't they supposed to come like, an hour later? Unless I lost track of time again. Saesha is right about a lot of things, I need to learn to keep track of time. _He thought grudgingly,

Naruto could hear it wasn't the Uchiha brothers; Shiki was home! Naruto dropped the blouse he was folding and made his hurried way to the living room.

"Hey Naruto-kun," Shiki greeted with warmth.

"Are you done already? You were only in there five minutes." Saesha knew it could easily be done in two, but this was Naruto.

"Ano... Not yet, I wanted to say hi to Shiki-chan."

Saesha pointed her finger (a useless gesture) and ordered him back in the room. He scurried back like a properly whipped puppy.

"You can't just stop in the middle of a mission if you're a shinobi!" Saesha shouted after him.

"Okay okay, I get it," he shouted back.

…Stupid laundry.

When Naruto came out seven minutes later he heard the sound of people working with scrolls and Shiki talking about "sealing matrices" and "suppressed chakra variants".

He tried to set himself quietly on the couch, but Saesha caught him before his butt touched.

Mopping... this time it was mopping.

Stupid mopping.

o o o o o

Stupid Shar'gan.

Er, Faded Shari'gan, that is. Itachi had a real Shari'gan, not this Faded crap everyone else had. That's why he was so awesome, even in ANBU at 13! People said he was a genius, even for having a real Shari'gan, but Sasuke doubted it. He could be just as awesome as his brother if he had a real one too. It wasn't fair.

_...But then neither is getting your eyes stabbed out._

Sasuke settled on not complaining – for now.

He and Itachi strolled across the grass of training area 69. Sasuke was a bit surprised his brother had offered to take him himself. After all, the Jonin had ANBU duties. Still, it was cool, and if the Shari'gan suppression actually worked this time, Itachi might be really helpful in having Sasuke adjust to "normal" eyes. Sure, all the other people at the house they were going to had "normal" eyes – except for that blonde kid, that is – but they didn't understand the differences between "normal" vision and the Shari'gan the same way an actual _user_ did.

Sasuke stumbled on a rock.

"Itachi! You're supposed to warn me!"

Sasuke had been walking with his eyes closed, like normal.

"Maybe you should open your eyes little brother."

"I want to use the regular eyes as long as I can when I get them."

"They will not hurt you like your Sharingan does." Itachi said, observing the boy as he got back up and spat out fresh dirt.

"How do you know, I've never looked with them before. They might."

True. Itachi had to ponder this with pocky. Sasuke shook his head and clung to his brother's cloths.

Hemanaged to follow without further incident. Unlike _her,_ they were going to arrive five minutes early.

He had never been to her home before, so he opened is eyes when Itachi announced they were near. What he saw first was the field of flowers dominated by yellow and white blooms, and then as the trees parted he could see the three buildings that made up the center of training area 69. They were placed in a triangle with all but the home's main entrance facing inward. The largest of the buildings was a fairly spectacular green house. The second may have been a dojo, or a study, or something of the like but it was impossible to tell from the outside. The third and smallest was the house, and that's where they were going.

Sasuke figured that if he went to all the work of keeping his eyes closed on the way here, it would not be a good representation of his actions if the doctor lady were to first see him with his eyes open, so he closed them again.

They took off their sandals as Itachi announced their arrival with a knock. Sasuke could not remember his voice that well, but he assumed it was Shiki-sama who greeted them at the door.

"Come in Itachi-kun, Sasuke-kun. Saesha and I are finishing the last of the modifiers on the suppression canceler arc of the seal, so it should only be another twenty minutes." He ushered them in and pointed to a couch for Itachi to lead them to. "Have you decided which of the possible spots you want to place the primary matrix on, Sasuke-kun?"

He had had three options: Having it bent into a swirl on the left cheek; a straight line tracing down the spine from the base of the head to the third vertebrae in the lumbar; or curled in an elliptical pattern over his heart. He didn't really want a target marked on his heart, and some ninja have a kekkei genkai (bloodlimit) that allows them to see seal marks through paper, walls, and clothing (Itachi had informed him of this). While the spine wasn't a much better place, it would probably look cooler.

On top of that each positions had probable benefits and deficits. The cheek would allow him to re-activate the Shari'gan in an instant but it would deface him; the spine would use the least chakra due to the large and constant flow along the spine but it might interfere with his jutsu, the most likely way being in strength; and the heart would neither deface or interfere but it would have the longest delay for the Shari'gan to reactivate – a bad thing since the most fundamental of the Shari'gan's uses was to compensate for an opponents speed.

He could deal with slightly weaker jutsus, he would just have to use more of them. The Shari'gan ensured that he had many to choose from

"Spine."

"I think that is a good decision," Shiki agreed. Sasuke curled up on the couch and resisted the urge to open his eyes. Itachi ate his pocky next to him.

Soon the Houraisans were back to mumbling in low tones and scratching notes. It was relatively peacefu-

"Saesha-chan! _Saesha-chan_! I finished the laundry, _and_ the mopping, _ and _the dusting and making the bed. Can I train _now_?" Naruto shouted as he felt his way into the living room. "Wow, you guys breathe loud."

"You're calling _us _loud? You almost just shattered all the lights in the house," Sasuke said back.

"Eh? Hey Itachi-san!"

Sasuke growled.

"Pocky?" Itachi offered

"What's pocky?"

To those who could see it looked like Itachi was caught up in a struggle not to hyperventilate.

"Eat," He commanded as he withdrew a stick.

"...it's not really that good." Sasuke said.

"Eat," Itachi's order sounded slightly panicked. Shiki looked up from his work to watch.

Naruto fumbled his way over and took the stick. When it came close to the boy's mouth Itachi's Sharingan flared to life and the tomoe began their spin. Saesha tensed but held her self from action.

With much drama Naruto crunched down on the treat. Itachi was on the edge of suspense.

"That's pretty good," Naruto concluded after a time. The corners of Itachi's mouth curled up and his Sharingan slowed to deactivation. Saesha allowed herself to relax, thinking Itachi the most... curious Sharingan user she had encountered.

"Naruto, Shiki and I need to concentrate. Go out side and punch some trees or something."

Shiki gave his wife an suspicious look. Saesha waved him off.

"Okay! Hey Itachi, you wanna' come help me?"

Itachi took some serious time considering this. Naruto, lacking the ability to see his expression grew steadily more confused.

"Well?" He asked impatiently

"I think, I need to make sure everything is going to go well for little brother's sealing."

"Eh, okay. Maybe next time. Little brother, you want to come."

Sasuke pointedly ignored him.

"You guys are quiet today... Alright, I'm going to go show that tree who's tougher." He said as he felt his way to the door.

When the door closed Sasuke asked "Tree?"

"This is not working," Saesha snapped. "If you think him repeatedly punching a tree is stupid go give him better training yourself. In the meantime _we_ are going to figure out how to fix you kekkei genkai."

Shiki looked at her wide eyed, backing his head a fraction.

"Bad day yesterday?" He inquired tentatively.

"Uhg, you have no idea."

Shiki placed a hand on her shoulder and began squeezing out some tension. Saesha gave an appreciative grunt.

"Little brother, I think it would be prudent to go outside until Shiki-sama and Saesha-sama have finished their preparations."

Sasuke nodded his agreement. He had no reason to have another encounter like yesterday. He stood and followed out, but exited as quietly as possible. He saw Naruto walking and swishing his feet out in front of him with to search for obstacles as he made his way to the forest's edge. Sasuke crept along the house trying to get around the corner undetected. Just a few more steps and he would-

"You guys really do breathe loud. So what are you doing little brother?"

Sasuke cringed. "Don't call me 'little brother', teme."

"Ha ha ha. Don't like it, 'nii-chan'?"

"Teme!"

Sasuke was glaring, but then he decided to close his eyes due to the uselessness of his action.

"So nii-chan, are you just going to glare at me all day or are you trying to become an awesome ninja to?"

_What is with him? And why does he have those grooves down the side of his face? Did he get those in the attack, they shouldn't be permanent... They kinda look, whisker-y?_

"Uhh, no."

"What? You don't want to be an awesome ninja?"

"No. Yes. No, I just don't want to train with you." Sasuke plopped himself down in the grass sullenly.

"That's okay. Then you wont know all my awesome moves when I go to kick your butt."

"As if."

"Ha ha ha, I can beat you blindfolded! ...Eh, blind!"

Sasuke "Hnn-ed". Naruto began marching his direction.

"I'll swat you around so hard you will wish I was a tree," Naruto declared.

"What?" Sasuke was giving as quizzical of an expression as his face could manage.

"Come here," Naruto closed in with one hand seeking hand and the other a cocked fist.

"Get away from me."

Naruto grabbed him by the collar and lifted him to his feet.

"Let's go."

"No way, teme." Sasuke cracked his eyes open just in time for his Sharingan to see the oncoming fist. He tipped his head and the punch landed in the wall beside him.

"Ow ow ow," Naruto shook the hand but didn't relax his grip on the collar. He pushed Sasuke up against the wall and cocked for another strike, locating his target by the breathing. Sasuke tipped his head the other way and again Naruto smacked the wall beside him.

Sasuke just looked at him with bewilderment.

Naruto cocked his fist back a third time and aimed for the chest. Sasuke saw this and snapped a controlled kick to Naruto's locked leg, hyperextending the knee backwards ever so slightly. NarutoTHe blonde crumpled to the ground.

"Are you done yet!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto stood back up saying, "Not even started. Quit dodging nii-chan!"

He changed tactics and kicked for the Uchiha's midsection. Sasuke torqued his waist, letting the kick hit the wall and then reached out and pushed Naruto on his butt.

"Ah man. See, this is why I need to train." Naruto said as he stood back up and went for a full tackle. He smooshed Sasuke into the wall on impact and drug him to the ground. The two grappled back and forth, their shouting and grunting growing louder.

When they heard the sound of the door opening they froze. Saesha looked out around the corner. Sasuke gulped, his right eye evolving to second tomoe without conscious command.

The corners of Saesha's mouth twitched up, and she returned inside reporting, "Nothings wrong."

"_Teme_! You almost got us _killed_!" Sasuke snapped, rolling Naruto under him.

Naruto 'looked' up and considered. "Saesha-chan would only kill you if you killed me ...I think"

Sasuke roared his frustration (well, the best roar a seven year-old can muster) and grabbed Naruto's shirt at the shoulder and began slamming him into the dirt repeatedly and closed his eyes. That's when Naruto's fist cracked him in the chin, snapping his neck back.

When the neck snaps far enough back, the top of the brain stem gets pinched in the foramen magnum, stopping nerve activity in the area for an instant. 'Lights out'. Naruto was at the perfect angle to achieve this. No permanent damage, just 'lights out' for the target.

Sasuke fell limp onto the blond. Naruto pushed him up awkwardly.

"Hey, nii-chan, get off! Nii-chan? Yes! I win! I am so badass."

o o o o o

Fifteen minutes later Saesha returned out side and saw Naruto at the edge of the forest punching a tree with alternate. She made her way through the flower, being careful not to crush what flowers Naruto hadn't.

He stopped to pant and greeted her.

"Hi. Were is Sasuke?"

Naruto pointed back in the direction of the house. It wasn't a very accurate indicator but Saesha could spy what she had previously missed. Sasuke was limp in the grass with his finger forced up his nose. She giggled.

"You knocked him out?"

"Yeah. He wasn't hard. I just need to train so I'm ready when a more powerful enemy shows up."

"One problem Naruto, I didn't give you permission to knock him unconscious."

"What? I need permission to beat my challengers? That's dumb."

Saesha growled.

"We need him awake for the sealing ceremony. Go get some cold water and dump it on him and bring him inside when he's awake. Hurry."

The previous growl was all the warning Naruto needed to not argue. He made his way back, reaching out until he touched the house and then walked along it until he found it's entrance.

Saesha watched him enter and then walked to the limp raven haired boy. She looked down and giggled again. After a short internal battle she grabbed Sasuke's free hand and stuffed it in his other nostril and returned to the house herself.

Inside Naruto was busy fumbling through cabinets feeling for a pitcher, Itachi was fiddling with the snap on his pocky holster and Shiki was triple-checking his work. Naruto filled the largest container he could find and felt his way back out of the house.

When it came to the sealing the first option was black ink, and second was a tan or white ink to be more discrete but Shiki vetoed that. He was to perform a never-done-before experimental kekki genkai suppression seal, and anything that would make it more difficult for him to see was not going to happen. Sasuke was a young boy with his life ahead of him and Shiki didn't want to ruin that. Seals can be removed but there was always the potential that it would do irreparable damage beforehand. He needed to see clearly whether the shapes were perfect or not before they activated it, and that needed to be done _on_ the body where light ink would be most counter productive.

Sasuke returned inside, acting as dignified and stoic as his young self could.

"Are you ready," Shiki looked up and said after another five minutes.

Sasuke confirmed. Itachi nodded his encouragement (something Sasuke hardly ever remembered him doing before).

Saesha, deep in her thoughts, moved over and opened the hidden hatch to her pseudo medical room. As she let them go ahead of her Naruto burst in from behind.

"Hey, I wanna' come!"

Shiki faced him, ready with an answer; he had already considered the possibility.

"No Naruto, you would not see what was going on and we cannot risk any chakra interference." _And there is a lot of potential for that with Naruto._

"Good point." Naruto turned around and left. Everyone looked at each other with surprise.

_That was easy_, they all thought in unison. Saesha made a mental note to check on him as soon as the procedure allowed.

"Itachi, I would like you to come so you can give a report to the Uchiha counsel." They used to be called the 'Uchiha Elders' but no sane elders remained.

The group entered the white hall now lit with the blue tinted chakra illumination system. The first room with its uncomfortable chairs was passed by. The numerous seals within the operation room had the potential to interfere, and so Shiki applied chakra to each panels' turning seal, flipping them over to reveal their smooth, unmarked bottoms.

Once the room was prepared and all the wall panels were covered and the ceiling panels set to regulate the chakra flow underneath, Sasuke was directed to the center of the room. Shiki removed five scrolls, and using the tile division on the floors, set them around his patient in a perfect pentagon. Sasuke was ordered to take off his shirt and lay on his stomach and then Saesha aimed each limb at a the meeting points of the pentagon with head pointed to the top. Shiki withdrew an extremely fine brush and a larger brush along with a rule. He placed the rule directly over the boy's spine.

Itachi backed into a corner, keeping his Sharingan deactivated as ordered.

Shiki made measurements from the boy's ribcage to the rule, and then from the point of the hip to the rule, and once centered to the best of his substantial ability he began drawing the outline of many curved spikes pointing out from the rule and then filling them in with the thicker brush. The spikes would be guides to the immense and detailed sealings, guiding them to their proper locations on the spine.

Saesha did last minute chakra control exercises, similar to a performer warming up on their instruments in preparation for a big night. When Shiki was done placing the two foot long pattern he and Saesha stepped away. Once outside the pentagon Saesha addressed their patient.

"I know it's uncomfortable, Sasuke, but you need to tip your head forward about an inch more," Saesha instructed, receiving an approving smile from her husband.

The boy complied without comment or complaint. This was his chance to get as close as he could to an actual Sharingan instead of the Faded one he was stuck with, and he was _not _going to screw it up.

Shiki took the next four minutes to perform angle inspection jutsus and the like. When he was satisfied he placed himself at the bottom of the formation and Saesha moved to the top point.

It was her job to monitor chakra flow and the seal on the ceiling and supply the chakra for the two sheets she was closest to; Shiki would be supplying the chakra for the bottom three and guiding the whole process as it implanted itself on the Uchiha's body.

"Ready, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hai."

"Begin."

With that the Houraisans began pumping chakra out of their bodies. A glow worked its way across the man markings intricate and small markings. Soon the room was lit with the soft glow while the marks slid off their paper and traced their way to the patient. They shrunk as they neared and soon were entering from the ends of the "tube" Shiki's design had created. The seals stopped, separated, combined, and warped according to the influence of the marks.

Sasuke tried not to scream. Each symbol that moved across his skin felt like a molten piece of sand paper being pressed into his skin. After two symbols moved over the same piece of skin it felt like it should either catch on fire or bleed and he was having hundreds play their merry tune across his pain sensors. However, he was _not_ going to screw this up, even if it put him within an inch of death. So he tried not to scream and he succeeded.

Once the symbols were in place Shiki and Saesha nodded to each other and then pushed chakra into the seal as fast and as powerful as they could manage.

The imprinting burned so bad that Sasuke could only start his scream before passing out. Bright blue streams of light shot out of his back, steam rising from it.

Thirty seconds later it was over. Shiki fell to his knees and Saesha ran to the boy. She had analysis jutsus running up and down his spine. The skin the seal had moved across was traced with red inflammation, but it paled in comparison to the sunburn like damage found everywhere within a inch of the seal. He was think with perspiration but there was no muscle or organ damage. The nerves seemed to think the whole thing very undesirable, so Saesha ran her best soothing technique over the complaining areas.

Itachi remained stock still like he had the entire time.

Shiki drug himself over to the boy and inspected the seals with a pair high powered magnification specs. Seven minutes later he had his conclusion.

"It all seems to be in place." He then looked up at Itachi, removing the glasses. "This is far from the most difficult seal I have done, but it is one of the most unique. I am confident he will be okay unharmed, but the effectiveness of the seal is still unseen. I need to rest, please, help me Itachi-kun."

Itachi broke his stillness and moved over and supported the man, thinking physical contact with someone aside from his family strange.

Shiki felt like his throat had atrophied.

Itachi and Shiki had left and Saesha began returning her room to normal. Once completed she moved Sasuke to her analysis matrix and began inspecting of the deepest and most detailed she was capable of.

Approximately thirty minutes later her chakra urged Sasuke to consciousness. His breathing when from the slow and stead he had during sleep to something more akin to a panic attack.

"Did I screw it up?" He asked amidst pants and curses.

Saesha giggled at him. "No you didn't. Shiki is up in the house resting, and by all his ability to know your sealing was successful."

Sasuke forced a few calming breaths as he was handed his shirt.

"I wouldn't suggest showering even though you worked up quite a sweat. We need to check everything first."

Sasuke nodded and stood slowly and then put his shirt on carefully.

"Everything looks the same," Sasuke said pointing to his eyes.

"It's not like a Sharingan-" Sasuke frowned"-you have to suppress it. It's natural state is active instead of inactive. When we have gone once more over everything we will teach you how to activate the suppression. Stay here, I am going to go get my husband."

Sasuke sat back down. He thought about leaning his back against the wall but considering how much it hurt to even slide his shirt over his skin he counted it a bad idea. He had done it, he was _this_ close to having the best eyes he could. The anticipation both ate at him and drowned out the residual pain.

Saesha returned with the full crew, Naruto clinging to Shiki's hand.

"Hey nii-chan! You survive?"

"Teme."

"Ah man, he survived," Naruto did his best pout. Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, would you take off your shirt for the inspection please."

Sasuke stared at Shiki in disbelief and slowly and painful removed his shirt. Saesha gave him an apologetic shrug.

Sasuke was set in the middle of a seal inspection matrix and the forced to stand a certain way and breathe at certain intervals. Naruto did not envy him.

Five seals later and Shiki slammed his palm into the activation point and spoke what he observed.

"It seems placing it on the spine had another advantage: there is chakra leaking through the seal already. It's not enough for full activation however. Sasuke, you are going to need to take a few days and allow your chakra networks to adapt to the new flow this seal has forced upon them, then we can teach you how to suppress the Sharingan."

The boy's face and arms fell, then he remembered his required position and returned to it almost immediately.

Naruto grunted, saying, "Sorry about that nii-chan."

Sasuke barely managed to hide his surprise.

_He's sorry that I can't suppress my super eyes? What?_

"Again, everything seems to be in order." Shiki said and then gave his wife a discrete nod.

Having her husbands go-ahead she invited, "Why don't you two stay for lunch before you go?"

Itachi blankly considered and then accepted with a polite quarter-bow.

"Upstairs we go then," Saesha chirped.

"Uh, Saesha-chan, are you making _that_ stuff again?" Naruto asked with a voice harboring fear.

"No no, that is just for you. We wouldn't want to put these two through that, now would we."

"Heh heh, yeah," Naruto agreed and scratched the back of his head.

Once they were upstairs thye decided to eat outside, so thats where everyone waited while Saesha whipped up the food. Naruto was bursting with questions.

"Too bad I can't see it. Is it cool?"

Sasuke had guessed his seal would look intimidating, but as of yet he hadn't actually seen it. It also seemed to be a bit of a moot point seeing as he had a tendency to wear shirts. Although, that _could_ change...

The dark haired seven year old continued to ponder his options of how show it off while Naruto's ability to hold back questions broke.

"Shiki-san, will it glow when he uses it? Maybe he could blind enemies sneaking up behind him!"

This tore Sasuke out of his pondering. _Do what?_

"Then I could kick their butts because they would be stuck like me!" Naruto continued.

"To the best of my knowledge it will not glow. However, it might look like that to someone using the Byakugan."

"Oh cool! What's the Byakugan?" Naruto asked.

"You don't know what the Byakugan is? You really don't know anything teme," Sasuke said, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of skin cracking on his back whenever he moved.

Naruto growled and stuck his lower lip out in the direction of the insult. Itachi made no comment. Shiki made it his role to explain.

"It is the bloodlimit of the Hyuuga clan-"

"Like Hiashi-sama and that little girl?" Naruto interrupted.

"Yes. As I was saying, the Byakugan is dojutsu that makes it where the user can see all around them," Shiki left out the blind spot, it was part of his contract to keep the Hyuuga secrets and Naruto had no real need of it, "they can use a level of telescopic vision-"

"What's telescopic mean?"

"It means they can zoom in on things, teme."

Naruto growled at him halfheartedly.

"Yes, and some of them can see very far. This allows them to-"

"I bet that's not that helpful in a forest," Naruto commented.

"Actually, they can see through objects up to about a two inch board. Many of the more skilled Hyuuga can see through even further than that."

"Eh, if that's the case I bet all of them can see through things as small as bushes and clothes and stuff," Naruto said absentmindedly.

At the same time both children reached the awkward conclusion. There eyes grew big (Naruto's under his bandages, but it felt strange sing as there was nothing to pull his lids across but empty space).

"That means," The blonde choked, "That means, they can see through, clothes, and stuff..."

Sasuke paled more that it had been said out loud. Itachi's mouth curled into a smile.

"It's best to just not think about it," Saesha said as she came out to join them, having heard the discussion through the kitchen window. Naruto gulped.

"I-I'm not going to let them look at me with it." It was strange hearing Sasuke stutter.

Saesha gained a maniacal grin as she made her next declaration.

"Weren't you listening? They have 360 degrees of vision. They don't even have to be facing your direction." She enjoyed the big gulp they both gave.

_I might as well get them used to the side effects of Konoha's greatest clan. They are going to have to deal with it all their lives._ Saesha thought and decided to push it as hard as she could.

"In fact, they can look at you standing behind them while they have their eyes closed."

The pitiful amount of color that had managed to remain in their faces was vanquished instantly – but she wasn't done yet.

"Mmhmm. They can see through your clothes with their eyes closed, facing the other direction, in a another room, across the hall or maybe even on the other side of a building. Like I said, it's best to not think about it." She had said it all so casually.

Naruto felt like fainting, Sasuke more so due to having done just that twice in under an hour. But even as "faintful" as Naruto felt he understood one thing: Saesha was getting a kick out of this. He had to get away from her.

"Uh, niichan, you wanna go, um, around the house to _train, _or something."

Sasuke nodded and rose to his feat and the two boys made a hasty retreat.

When they had disappeared around the corner Saesha laughed.

"That was a bit... cruel," Itachi concluded, the smile still on his face. It _was_ a fact you had to get used to and he had gone through the same thing. Although it was a lot easier for him, considering he had figured it all out when he was six.

"It really is a shame they weren't a few years older, then I could have made them pass out."

Shiki rubbed his eyes in exasperation.

o o o o o

Just a few paces away from the corner Sasuke had to sit down, or he was going to fall down.

"Kami," He muttered under his breath as he plopped.

"They can... they can..." Naruto sputtered. He halted mid-step when he heard the sound of grass being squashed behind him. He turned and sat down himself and returned to his sputtering. "They can... they can..."

"Yes. They can, can't they." It sounded like Sasuke had given his worst fear form by merely speaking.

Naruto nodded gravely. Then he lit up with an idea.

"We could wear, what was it, oh yeah, _three_," He emphasized the number by raising a hand with three fingers up, "inches of wood under our clothes!"

"Uh, don't you think people would notice?"

"Yeah," He replied. "That's true, and it would be heavy. Maybe there is a jutsu to block it?"

"Don't you think that if there was all the enemies of the Hyuuga clan would know it? They wouldn't be number one then, and maybe my clan would still be first."

Naruto turned to him with curiosity under his bandages. "Your clan was first?"

"Yeah! Duh! Well, sort of. I heard it was always too close between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha that no one was the clear 'first' clan. I didn't believe that until today... If they can see through walls, it might be true."

A shout came from around the corner, "And don't forget they can see the chakra in genjutsu and ninjutsu! And the chakra paths in your body and then shut them off!" It was Saesha. She could still hear them.

Naruto cursed and then drug the Uchiha further away.

"How do you stand her?" Sasuke asked, trying to remain upright.

"...She scares me more and more each day. Pray I live through tomorrow, huh, niichan."

Despite its pointlessness Sasuke nodded.

o o o o o

Sarutobi made his way from the Hokage tower with an easy walk. He could jump and rush and such things that young people did, but he had some things to think about. Yes, that was most definitely the exclusive reason he was walking slow.

He chuckled to himself.

So, Saesha had forgotten to send her summons the night Naruto woke and the day after that, but she had invited the Hokage to come today with the forewarning him the Uchiha clan leader's son was receiving the experimental suppression seal that day.

...Those were interesting things the So Yu-Su were doing. It was quite an ordeal convincing those two to help the Uchiha cause. They were disliking of everything kekkei genkai, Shiki especially. It was odd then, that they would live their lives without needing to work due to one of the most renown kekkei genkai using clans (Hyuuga) paying them to keep their bloodlimit's secrets. And now they were working to restore to the Uchiha the original Sharingan.

There was no way they were hear to do just that. Though the So Yu-Su had claimed to leave their manipulating ways behind (and Sarutobi had seen no evidence to the contrary) it was doubtful that any immortal could not help but influence the future of nations, at least inadvertently if not intentionally. He also doubted their willpower to remain uninvolved.

So there was another reason. Of all the things that tempt man, money, sex, greed, hatred, which ones were their reasons for staying. They had money and needed it so little to begin with. As for the next item, they had each other and seemed committed to staying that way. Greed? Maybe, but for what. Power? No, Sarutobi had never seen Shiki power hungry. Sure, they were excellent fighters and indeed powerful, but it just didn't seem a point of importance to them. So what else could they have greed for? Companionship? Friends? You tend to lose a lot of those when you were an immortal. But why in Konoha would they seek their next temporary friendship? So hatred was left. But if hatred was driving them they should be busy killing the Uchiha instead of restoring them. For all he could see they were being honest in their attempts to fix the situation Sarutobi had asked them to. So what was left?

Then, a Naruto came to mind.

_Ah, so curiosity, is it?_

Maybe it was simple intellectual curiosity, and, should Sarutobi dare to think himself that valuable of a friend, to live with him in his last days. That was a scary thought. Of course, to them, "last days" could be forty years. That was a comforting thought.

So maybe "greed" for companionship and intellectual curiosity was what was keeping them. Having only a glimpse into the reasonings of people who could live a thousand years had shown Sarutobi that this was plenty enough. Sometimes "just because" was plenty enough reasoning for them, but not for staying and helping the Uchiha; for that, they would need more and curiosity along with companionship fit the bill. Sarutobi hoped these were their real reasons, and that he could also enjoy his "last days" or rather "years" with them.

The pondering man sniffed deeply through his wrinkled nose, the smell of flours indicating his progress.

So, what for Uzumaki? How would he be able to carry on? It was a very depressing question. The voids in the child's head were the collection of his failures, both to love and protect the boy and to his promise to the Yondaime. He had figured how he was going to try and "fix" Konoha by raising the next generation in excellence and right-heartedness, but what for Naruto?

_Try. Try to make things right and admit you may have let things screw up beyond your ability to repair._

That was all he could offer now, but maybe Shiki had the answers, he had so many. As much as the Third had gained from experience in his life Shiki had much more of it to teach him. Saesha, on the other hand, seemed to prefer and remain herself and ignore much of her experiences. There were things that broke her enough to change her, of course, but for the most part the woman was exactly as he had met her over fifty years ago. Remembering the young Uzumaki Sarutobi decided that this could be a good thing as well.

...And maybe Naruto would find the perfect mix of what things to keep within himself and what parts he should allow to change, but such thoughts were practically drowning themselves in optimism.

The scent of flowers strengthened as Sarutobi stepped into the clearing of training area 69.

o o o o o

Saesha and Shiki could tell someone had entered their grounds. They always had a detection jutsu on for their old friend. As soon as they felt the indicating tingle their heads snapped up and searched around. Itachi thought it strange.

Sasuke and Naruto had left just a few minutes before and the three that remained were waiting for their return before eating. Saesha was just about to get them, but instead she jumped to the roof of her house and found Sarutobi coming from the direction of the Hokage tower.

"So you came did you, ya old monkey!" Saesha greeted. Sarutobi gave her a big smile and removed his traditional hat.

"How did the sealing go?" He shouted back.

"I will let my husband tell you the details," and with that Saesha jumped back down between the triangle of buildings.

"Hokage-sama," Sasuke said in the distance.

"Hey old man, what are you doing here?" Naruto's voice joined in.

Soon the five of them were enjoying the day as Saesha prepared more food, and then all six of them were enjoying the day,

"Everything went well," Shiki summarized after the lengthy description he had given to satisfy his friend's curiosity.

Sarutobi turned a smile to the youngest Uchiha, saying, "It hurt, didn't it."

Sasuke nodded as he finished off his rice.

"Thats what Anko said when Shiki and Jiraiya invented and applied the Fuuja Hōin seal to her."

"The _'evil locking method'? _Why would she need that?"

Sarutobi stuttered a moment and then took out his pipe to avoid answering. While he lit another voice was heard in the distance.

"Saesha, do you have alcohol?" Each word was shouted slowly to be as clear as possible.

"We should have never let her see the two hundred year aged," Shiki said a bit mournfully.

"Speak of the snake..." Saesha said, shaking her head.

A moment later Itachi chimed in. "Then it would be foolish to speak of the other."

It went clear over Sasuke and Naruto's heads, but the others stared at him - and that was how Anko found them.

"Oh my god, he has a sense of humor," Saesha said with mirth.

It had been the reason for all their staring. It was the question of whether the boy was being serious or kidding around, and no one had really seen him kid around before. But, with Saesha's conclusion the other two joined in awkward laughing which grew comfortable and deep. Naruto and Sasuke chuckled confusedly and the corners of Itachi's mouth turned up. Anko frowned.

"Hey, Kurenai is not that funny looking," Anko chided as said kunoichi arrived behind her. The red eyed mistress scowled at her counterpart. Kurenai then turned to the Hokage and gave him a polite bow. He smiled at her in return.

_She is quite the chuunin,_ the old man thought to himself.

"Welcome Anko-_san_, Kurenai-san," Shiki greeted, making Kurenai's honorific sound much more authentic.

"Peh, drop the formalities. I've had a terrible day thanks to our dear Hokage here," Anko said, tipping her head in the Sandaime's direction.

He grunted.

"He seems to think I need a team of Genin. I tried, I swear I did, but I just almost strangled the youngest."

He grunted again. He had argued with her for a long time and did not want a rematch. One of her greatest talents was how stubborn she could manage to be.

"It's not going to work out, so do you have any other ideas, Hokage-sama?" She still honored him with the 'sama' despite her previously denouncing them.

"What about being the exam proctor next year?" Saesha suggested.

"I was just thinking that," Sarutobi agreed.

Anko grew a bit skittish.

"Not the first test. I don't like school," She said with her arms in front of her, palms out.

"The second then?" Sarutobi asked.

She tried to want to answer. Anko truly respected the man who had helped her so much. But right now, it was not going to happen. After a time she just ignored it all and again asked Shiki about the alcohol.

Shiki sighed and unfurled a scroll within a scroll stored in his belt packs.

_That is that boy, isn't it. What's with the bandages? That could suck._ Anko thought.

Shiki unsealed one hundred year sake and poured it for her. It really was easier than dealing with what would result if he denied her. Anko to a grateful drink and then frowned.

"Are you holding out on me?"

Shiki tried not to grind his teeth.

"No, I am giving you sake that you would be unable to find anywhere else and on top of that your getting it for free."

Saesha chuckled at her husband, always finding it fun to watch Anko grate his nerves

Anko grunted (a good imitation of the Hokage) and plopped herself down; Kurenai sat in a much more gentle manner.

"So Kurenai-san," Saesha began, "Did you have a better day than Anko?"

She gave a weak smile and shook her head. Shiki could just tell he needed to, so he poured her some of his sake as well. She took it with a grateful smile.

"What happened?"

To everyone present it was like the calm appearing Kurenai was suddenly a volcano threatening to release. The woman's jaw clenched and she managed to hold the magma back.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

When the red eyed mistress was no longer threatening to erupt she took the opportunity to vent (steam, not the afore mentioned magma).

"I had an ANBU threaten to turn me over to Ibiki."

"Thats pretty grave," Itachi said.

Anko nodded and rolled her eyes at the pig who had threatened her.

"What was the reason?" Sarutobi asked.

"They were investigating something about rogue ANBU. The agent I was talking to acted aloof, but the idea of Ibiki is enough to set you on glass, let alone him throwing the threat at me like it was no more than a comment on the weather."

"Intimidation is apart of our job."

Kurenai's neck turned unnaturally far around to face the older of the Uchiha who stood behind her. At the expression on her face Itachi took an imperceptible step back.

"Your ANBU?" She snipped.

"Hai."

"Maybe you should stand somewhere other than behind me." She considered for a moment and then added "Please."

Itachi complied.

Sarutobi steered the conversation back, "So why was he questioning you?"

"Apparently they had run into some very talented genjutsu that the rogues had used to hide their activities. He thought I may have been involved in their creation."

"That seems a very high compliment." Sarutobi commented.

"Yeah, I will make sure and thank him for it the next time I see his hare mask."

_Hare mask? Well, I had given the investigation directly to him. It's nice to see someone taking such a hands on approach,_ the Hokage thought. _Then again, he always has. I need to push the rest of ANBU for a bit more excellence as well, I think._

Kurenai and Anko both took deep drinks of their sake.

"Well, that can't have been all that brought you here. It's only noon, I've seen you take more." Saesha said as encouragement for her to continue.

"Well he _was_ good. But Anko later decided to bring her Genin to me so I could help her. One think led to another and the research I was going over was lit on fire by the youngest." Both the most recent arrivals cringed at the memory. "The library is going to suspend me from their rare section, they don't have many copies of those manuscripts...."

This piqued Saesha's interest.

"What subject were the scrolls on?"

Kurenai eyed her for a moment before admitting, "Sharingan genjutsu."

The Uchiha seemed a little surprised, but Saesha and the Chuunin launched into a conversation on the specifics and what the Fading had done to things like the Tsukuyomi.

Anko groaned and turned all her attention to enjoying her sake.

After listening with interest for a time Itachi moved to his brother. "Little brother, we should be returning. You should rest."

Sasuke looked up, eyes red as always, and nodded his agreement.

"Eh, bye niichan," Naruto said with some disappointment.

Sasuke grunted and then thanked the Houraisans before leaving with his brother.

Naruto just stretched out on the grass and let his mind drift with the sounds of the women's conversation providing a backdrop. He sniffed in the aroma of the nearby flowers and felt the breeze on his cheek and the way it made the blades of grass tickle his skin. For a moment – before it all lulled him to sleep – he wished he was the wind.

.

.

.

**Author's Notes:**

Hey, I would really appreciate it if y'all would start leaving some comments. If you like something and want more of it, say so. If you want to see a character show up in the next chapter or two, say so. If your afraid of the way a certain character seems to be developing, say so.

It's kind of hard to know what you're doing right when you just hear dead silence. I haven't gotten a review for the last two chapters, and I thought 6 was my best work yet.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time,

Psalm Of Fire

PS. Please don't take the time to be an a**.


	8. not The Big Kahuna

If you've checked my profile then you know that, for some time, I've been promising a big Kahuna. A story written and edited before being posted. I just posted the story "Naruto: Leading the Sacrifice", which is not this story, it's the story as it was in the summer of 2008.

It's quite a fun ride, even if it is incomplete. That's part of the reason why I'm posting it during the holidays: I'm hoping my readers will be generous to me, not holding it against me too much that I post a version of the story I never intend to complete. The main reason I'm doing this, though, is to show just how much I mean business.

I'm still working under the exact same directive as before: A story of Naruto approached like a book, written and polished, and then released to the readers on a weekly basis. Not perfection, but, you have admit, that sounds nice. Another nice thing this does is shows just how my skills have grown since the posting this story to 2008.

One more thing I feel important to note: Since the writing of "Leading the Sacrifice" I've made some major revisions, most notably that I've removed all the OCs. That's why I felt like I could post this and not spoil any of the fun, as it makes for quite a different story in execution. This story-to-come is currently titled _Naruto: Beyond the World of Light._

As for _Leading the Sacrifice,_ well, there's surprises and fun awaiting you there. I've posted half of what I intend to, and the second half should show up around new years. If this tickles you curiosity enough to click on the author-link, scroll down to my 2 stories, and click "Naruto: Leading the Sacrifice," well then Please Enjoy!

Merry Christmas, a belated Happy Hanukkah, Supper Solstice, and Happy reading,

Psalm of Fire

Original partial Chapter 8:

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Naruto's barely conscious mind listened to the consistent rhythm.

_It's a lot less nice than the breeze and Saesha-chan's conversation, _He thought. _Wait, I fell asleep? That's weird, it was only lunchtime._

And then the feel of the hard floor beneath him came tot he forefront of his mind.

_I've... I've been here before._

The memory made his heart contract.

_I am not afraid. Am not._

He coughed into his hand and rose. When he opened his eyes he could not feel the bandages pressing against the motion. Naruto raised his had to his face. It felt like he had eyeballs! But still, all he saw was blackness.

A voice spoke to his left.

"So, you did come," It boomed.

Naruto turned and face the direction it came from. It may have been booming, but it still sounded distant.

"Where are you? What do you want?" Naruto put his hand out in front of him, feeling as helpless as he had ever in his life.

"Fear is good."

If that was so Naruto was feeling very "good", and for Naruto it felt very unnatural.

"What do you want?" He repeated as he backed away.

"Don't give up and make your self weaker than you already are, you pitiful ape."

Part of Naruto wanted to growl back. But he just cowered. This did not make the voice happy.

"Do not give up!" It roared, and with the blast of sound came two man sized eyes in the world of darkness that Naruto was perceiving.

He hit the floor unconscious.


End file.
